Broken
by redwolfproductions
Summary: Rook and Ben have been partners for two years. Ben is now 18 and Rook is almost 20. Ever since they were partners, they had feelings that couldn't be explained. Once they realized they are having similar feelings, they must figure out if they should just be partners, or something more. This fan fiction is based around Ben 10 Omniverse. Ben x Rook (Broken). (Boy x Boy)
1. Prologue

Prologue –

"Will we always be partners?" Rook had once asked Ben.

At the time, Ben was just warming up to the idea of having a partner. In fact, Ben had been hoping that Grandpa Max would come to his senses and let Ben go solo, but things didn't play out like that. However, things had to Grandpa Max's way. Even if Ben wanted to repel against the idea of having Rook as a partner, he was just sixteen. He wasn't old enough to make life choices for himself. Yet.

Ben just shrugged and showed no emotion. "I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see how things play out."

Rook showed mostly confusion as he nodded. The way the earthling talked and behaved was just strange. He sometimes wished that when he was training to become a Plumber he could've taken a class or something to learn how earthlings spoke. Sure, he had learned how to understand other languages, but nothing like training was like humans. Rook had hoped that other humans were more clear and understandable than Ben, but Rook had been wrong. This thing humans called 'slang' just made conversations all the more confusing.

Just thinking about such things gave Rook a headache. What so confusing about Ben? Sure, he was brave, but he would often think with his watch before his head. Brave, but stupid. Kind, but aggressive. Rook had been more than happy to work beside the great Ben Tennyson, but working with him made Rook feel … weird. Working with other Plumbers was easy going. He did his mission and said good bye, but being with Ben was different. Instead of following the rules, Ben always had to do things 'his' way.

At first, Rook had seen this as dangerous and not right, but as he kept working beside Ben, he found that something was indeed different. Fighting with Ben made Rook felt happy, even excited. Whenever Roof did missions to the side alone or with another Plumber, he didn't feel this excitement and adventure. This felt too easy, as if not taking risks made his job boring. But he never thought of his job as boring. He loved being a Plumber. Did he truly believe that not being with Ben on missions took away part of Rook?

No. Rook tried not to think about it much, but he knew the truth. He didn't miss the danger in missions, he missed Ben. And he didn't just miss Ben on missions; he missed him whenever they were apart. After a long day of patrolling or just doing whatever, Rook always felt as if a part of him was being torn away when Ben and he had to go separate ways.

What was this feeling? Rook had never felt anything like it before. Sometimes, Rook wondered if Ben felt the same strange feeling. On certain occasions, Rook felt as if he should talk to Ben about it, as if Ben would understand the earthly feeling, but Rook always held back. What if Ben didn't feel the same and couldn't help Rook? Rook began to wonder if this feeling was the cause of being on earth, or if it was just simply something he had never experienced before.

Once, when Ben helped stop the Kraaho from turning the city into a lava pit, a Kraaho princess had seemed to develop 'feelings' for Ben. What was this feeling that Rook felt as he watched her flirt with Ben? As Ben seemed to smile back with the girl, something inside Rook was crushed. It was almost like when they were separated, but this feeling was worse and hade his chest feel tight.

'There must be something wrong with me.' Rook had thought.

Yes. There must have been something wrong. Rook had convinced himself that the feelings he had were some kind of after effect of coming to earth. However, the feeling that made his chest tight came back that one day.

When Ben and Rook were in Undertown looking for the demon dog that kept attacking Ben, they had had a heated fight. Rook left, feeling angry at Ben, but also feeling angry at himself. As he drove away, he silently cursed himself. What was wrong with him? He wanted to leave Ben there in the Undertown, but leaving Ben this time around not only made him feel hollow inside, it felt like torture. Rook felt as if his insides were twisted in knots and his heart was beating to an extended rate.

"He deserves it." Rook had mumbled to himself.

However, as he drove further away, he felt hollower. He sighed, realizing what was wrong. Yes, Ben had been unfair and deserved to be left in the Undertown, but Rook knew he couldn't stay away. Normally, Rook would've driven off, knowing that such rude behavior needed to be left behind, but Ben was different. Although Rook hadn't understood why Ben was so different from the other people in his life, he knew that Ben was a friend he couldn't lose.

As a couple of years of being partners went by, Rook had learned how to bottle up these feelings. Sure, leaving Ben made him feel hollow, but Rook had learned how to take these emotions and stuff them away. Rook knew that someday these emotions would erupt and escape, but he didn't care. What else could he do? It was almost as if Ben was a curse, making Rook die a little inside every time they parted ways.

However, this wasn't as bad compared to when he was around Ben. His chest felt tight and he felt his stomach doing flips. What was wrong with Rook? When he was with Ben, he felt almost like he would erupt, but when he wasn't with Ben, he felt like he was all alone, no matter where he was.

What was this feeling? Rook didn't know.

* * *

Ben knew that something was wrong. Rook and he were partners, but something deep inside him knew that this was something different. Sure, he and Rook had had their fights and moments of separation, but this just added to Ben's feelings. Ben had constantly thought about what he was feeling, but he never really sat down and thought about the situation.

However, the day that Rook left Ben alone in the Undertown made Ben stop and think. As Rook had driven away, Ben felt like he was being crushed inside. He had ticked off a lot of people in his time, but never enough to make Rook just leave. Every second that Ben was away from Rook, he felt himself slowly dying inside. What had he done? He was such an idiot.

Ben had stood in an alley, holding his hover board close to his chest. As Ben stood there for a while, he felt tears rolling down his soft cheeks. Ben wiped them away, but then thought about the situation. Although Ben hadn't wanted to admit it earlier, he knew that he had deeper feeling for Rook than he thought. Making Rook angry enough to leave Ben made him feel like such a fool.

Once time went by and they had been partners for two years, Ben remembered that one day when Rook had asked him that question.

"Will we always be partners?" Rook had asked.

Ben wished he had answered differently back them. Now that Ben was eighteen and Rook was still his friend, Ben thought of a new answer. Although no one could bring Ben down more than Rook, no one could lift him higher.

'Yes.' Ben would've said. 'I promise we will always be partners.'

* * *

___EDIT: I KNOW that they planned on getting Ben captured and stuff, but I made this half so in later chapters I could add in the ending. Just be patient!_

_This is the prologue to the new fan fiction "Broken". There will be more after this. So keep an eye open for chapter one._

_Just to be warned, this fan fiction contains Yaoi (boy x boy) action._

_Sorry this is so short. Trust me, the chapters will be longer. I normally make chapters ten or fifteen pages long, but this one is only three._

_Enjoy!_

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS))_


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 –

It was happening again.

Like a few days ago, there were small crab-like aliens crawling out of the sewers. Ben and Rook had easily chased them off, but they just crawled back in the sewers. Now, they had returned. Unlike last time, there were many more. It was almost as if they were avenging their lost brothers in combat. That is if they were related at all.

Rook pasted a wave of them with his Proto-Gun. Once the rays hit the crabs, they exploded green goo everywhere. This repulsed Rook.

Ben stood on the other end of the street in the form of one of his aliens, Gravattack. He would lift a giant wave of crabs in the air before he smashed them back to the ground. He had a satisfied grin once some of the crabs retreated back into the sewers. Before any more could retreat, Rook blasted another fire at the opening, sending alien guts and pavement flying. Rook had an embarrassed look.

Ben's omnitrix timed out as he returned to his natural human form. He looked gleeful. "Nice shot, dude!"

Ben looked over to Rook, grinning. He saw that Rook looked a little embarrassed. "What?"

Rook looked at Ben, but then looked away. "Sorry."

"What? You just blasted the last of … whatever those things were. What's to be worried about?"

Rook looked away and he placed his gun away. "I did not mean to destroy the paved ground."

Ben looked at the paved ground. The smoke from the shot began to clear away as Ben saw what had happened. The sewer hole had been completely blasted away, leaving a giant hole in the middle of the street. Ben just laughed. "It's alright, dude. I've destroyed bigger stuff."

Rook smiled. "Yes. I am well aware of that."

"Shut up." Ben said playfully. "I can't control it."

"And by 'it' you mean what exactly?"

"My awesomeness!" Ben shouted.

Rook only laughed. "Right."

Ben crossed his arms. Rook and Ben stared at each other for a moment. How did they suddenly get so close? Ben heard his heart beating in his chest. Oh no. That happened all the time. When ever they were close or there was awkward silence between them, Ben would feel the nervousness and the butterflies in his stomach.

Rook must have felt it too. He quickly turned away from Ben and pulled out his Proto-Gun, fixing the range setting. Ben hoped Rook didn't see him blushing. He took a deep, unsettling breath before he put his hands in his pockets and started walking towards the truck. "We should get going. Grandpa Max said that we'll need to return after we deal with this 'problem'."

Rook finished with whatever he was doing and put his Proto-Gun away. "Yes. I remember as well."

He walked with Ben. Great. They were close again. Rook pretended that it didn't bother him. Well, actually he didn't mind being close at all, but he could always sense the unsteadiness in Ben. Rook had liked being close to Ben for unknown reasons, but he thought that Ben didn't like it. For the two years they were partners, Rook was still unsure of human ways. Once, Ben had been blushing when Rook was close, and Rook got curious enough to ask why his face was pink. The question seemed to make Ben's face turn from pink to red. Rook was both interested and confused by this, but he smiled nevertheless. Rook smiling had turned Ben's cheeks an even darker shade of red.

Oh, how Ben loved Rook's smile. The way Rook would smile so cutely, but yet in a smart way, always made Ben's heart skip a beat.

'Shut up, brain!' Ben said, scolding himself.

Ben had always told himself he didn't roll that way. He had had girlfriends before, so he was positive that he wasn't gay. Rook was just … a good friend. His partner … IN CRIME FIGHTING!

'SHUT UP!' He screamed mentally.

* * *

Rook stood in the kitchen with Max. Ben lied on the couch in front of the TV, watching anything that looked good. He flipped through the channels, becoming bored with the fact that nothing good was on. He heard Rook and Max laughing in the kitchen. Grandpa Max was no doubt making something that would make Ben up-dog in the bathroom. Ben could never understand how Rook enjoyed Grandpa's cooking.

Ben turned off the TV and threw aside the remote. He was super bored, but didn't know what else to do. He flopped his body on of the couch, closing his eyes. He took in deep breaths; his emotions all mixed up and jumbled everywhere. He couldn't stop thinking about what happened after they defeated the crabs, how he felt. Rook was just his partner, right? Um, his partner in crime fighting, anyway. Ben sighed and opened his eyes. He yelped in fright to see that Rook was standing above him from the other side of the couch, smiling down at Ben. Once Ben yelped, Rook backed off a little so Ben could roll of the couch and stand up.

"Rook!" Ben yelled.

"What?" Rook said, questioning.

"You scared me!" Ben said more quietly.

Rook looked at Ben for a moment. Ben hopped his cheeks weren't turning pink. Then, Rook just laughed. "My apologies. You just seemed stressed."

"What? How did I look stressed?" Ben said, now feeling heat rise to his face.

"Your expression was concentrated, yet you tried to relax. I assume that means you're stressed."

There was a click from the end of the RV, telling the two that Grandpa Max had stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

Ben straightened himself up. "I'm not stressed."

Rook titled his head slightly. "But you show all the signs of being in distress."

Ben folded his arms. "Whatever."

Rook frowned as he looked away. Ben looked at Rook's expression. Had he been too cold? Ben opened his mouth as if to say something, but he closed it again, releasing another sigh. He placed his palm over his face, knowing that he was indeed stressed, and now a little guilty.

"Rook …" Ben said as he pulled his hand away. He was surprised to see that Rook had left. Where had he gone off to?

"Rook?"

Ben then heard the door opening and clicking close. Ben walked into the kitchen, thinking that Grandpa had walked back in, but he saw that there was no one. Rook must have walked outside. Great. Ben then realized that he was having that feeling again. He didn't feel guilty anymore, he mostly felt like his chest was becoming tight, making it hard to breath.

Whenever Ben was around Rook, he always had these strange feelings. Ben cursed himself. He cursed Rook. He cursed everyone. Sometimes Ben wished he never met Rook, so that way he would have never felt these feelings that killed him inside. He felt like he would explode at any moment. However, Ben could never truly wish of such a thing. Although no one could make Ben fell so horrible inside like Rook did, no one could make him happier.

* * *

Rook and Ben hadn't talked while they drove to the target range. When they got there, Rook was expressionless. Ben could tell something was wrong. Ben wasn't just talking about how he felt butterflies in his stomach, he was talking about Rook. Rook may have been expressionless, but Ben could tell that there was something going on inside that Ben couldn't figure out. He longed to ask Rook, but he didn't want to push Rook any further than he already was.

Once they entered the target range, Rook pulled out his blaster and shot each target pinned to the trees. Each hit was dead on and made a small explosion. As he did this, he was still expressionless. Ben had hoped that by practicing his shooting, Rook would open up a little more, but he remained the same.

Ben sighed as he turned the dial on his omnitrix. Suddenly, he turned into Diamondhead. There were cans hanging from trees, which Ben aimed carefully and shot crystals at. He had missed most of them. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He couldn't clear his mind though. He glanced over at Rook, who still wasn't showing any emotion as he shot accurate fires. Ben prepared to fire again, but the omnitrix suddenly timed out, leaving Ben back in his natural form. He looked at his omnitrix, but the battery was charging. He sighed.

Rook stopped firing as well as all the other targets had been destroyed. Rook sighed as well as he walked over to a tree in the shade. He pressed his back against it, looking off deep into the woods. He didn't show any signs of being upset or even angry, but just neutral.

Ben finally had enough. "Rook, what's wrong?"

Rook looked at Ben with his soft eyes. He loosened his shoulders before he spoke. "Ben, I –"

Suddenly, before Rook could finish his sentence, Ben's phone rang. Ben sighed as he picked it out of his pocket and answered it. He turned around as he talked to Grandpa Max. Rook just stared at Ben, looking crushed and disappointed. He looked to the ground, releasing a heavy sigh. It seemed whenever Rook wanted to tell Ben something REAL, something always got in the way. Was it a sign? Was Rook never meant to tell Ben how he felt? Rook thought about this, and then walked towards the truck, hiding away his feelings. Like usual.

* * *

Ben climbed into the truck beside Rook. When he got off the phone, he sighed. "Grandpa Max wants us to patrol the Undertown."

Rook nodded in agreement before he started the ignition. He had returned to being expressionless, but Ben knew that there was something wrong. Rook may have seemed expressionless, but there was an edge of sadness. Even if it took Ben forever, he would figure out what was wrong with his partner.

* * *

Once they were in the Undertown, Rook and Ben causally strolled through the crowds. Nothing seemed suspicious or out of place, but Rook seemed so concentrated, so serious. Ben had both loved and hated this side of Rook. Sure, Rook was a great partner for always having a serious side, but sometimes wished that Rook would lighten up, not be so serious about everything.

However, Ben noticed that he too was concentrated. Normally, Ben would be chill about any simple mission. Even though he was now eighteen, he still acted as if he were sixteen. Grandpa Max had scolded Ben for this, but Ben decided that as long as he worked for the Plumbers and he was partners with Rook, he would remain the same.

Ben tried to figure out why he was suddenly so serious. Then it hit him. He wasn't concentrated on the mission. He was concentrated on Rook. This was all so confusing. Was this how Rook felt when he couldn't figure out Ben or any other humans? No. This was nothing like it. For some reason, Ben felt a strange desire to comfort Rook, making him feel wanted. Ben hesitated. He had never thought of it like that before. Not only could Ben not figure out Rook's feelings, but he also couldn't figure out his own. He had that strange feeling again of his stomach flipping and his palms becoming sweaty.

What was this feeling? Ben knew perfectly what the feeling was. He had always told himself that things weren't like that. Ben began to think about things, when he sighed. Maybe, if he couldn't fight it, he should just embrace it.

The only question was, did Rook felt the same?

* * *

_This chapter is a little short, but the next one will be longer. This chapter was sort of just a warm up of whats currently happening._

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS))_


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 –

Ben was sitting in his living room, bored out of his mind. Just like before, there was nothing good on TV. Whenever Ben wasn't kicking alien but, he was chilling at home, or with Rook. Oh, crud. Ben sighed. He had watched boring shows and commercials just to get Rook off his mind, but was suddenly reminded of Rook.

It was almost eight o'clock, and Ben was trying to clear his mind of Rook so he could sleep soundly, but he already knew that after a day of tension with Rook, he wouldn't be able to sleep well. Ben had admitted to himself that he liked Rook. He 'like liked' him. What was so wrong with that? Ben's emotions were screaming yes, but his head was telling him to hold back. Ben hated this. He hated how he had to admit to himself his true feelings, but he couldn't tell Rook. What was holding him back? Ben didn't know, but whenever he felt the need to tell Rook, he always made up an excuse not to. Ben could only wonder if Rook felt the same.

Ben told himself to stop. He had done this a few hours ago. He beat himself up with questions. This mind game was pure torture. Ben had to know if Rook felt the same way, but he was … afraid. What if Rook didn't feel the same? If he didn't then their friendship would be ruined. Things would be awkward on so many levels if Ben confessed to Rook and he ended up not liking Ben back.

Ben could just see it now. Ben pouring out his heart to Rook, releasing everything he had held in for two years, and Rook turning away from it. It would simply crush Ben. He had girlfriends before, but he ended up liking them and them liking him back. This was different, though. Rook wasn't a girl. He was a dude. Plus, Rook wasn't human. Ben could mostly understand human girl emotions, but he had trouble processing Rook's alien emotions. Just thinking about it gave Ben a headache.

Suddenly, a chick flick appeared on the TV. Ben wanted to change the channel, but something inside him told him to not use his energy on reaching for the remote. So, Ben sat there for two hours watching girls talking about their feelings, shopping for shoes, and ex-boyfriends. For some weird reason, Ben liked it. He then wished that he could say his feelings like the actors in the movie. Things then would be so much easier.

* * *

As morning came around, Ben's mom walked down the stairs and made herself a cup of hot coffee. She took a sip as she walked into the living room. To her surprise, the TV was still on and Ben was sleeping on the couch. She chuckled as she placed her coffee mug down and turned off the TV. She sat on the couch next to Ben. He was curled up on one of the cushions. Ben's mom smiled as she ran her fingers through her son's brown hair.

Even though Ben was now eighteen and old enough to make his own life decisions, he would always be her little boy. Considering Ben was always working and running off with his alien partner, he was hardly ever home, making it seem as if he didn't really live there. His mom was happy whenever he was home, so they could share more mother-son-moments.

Ben began to shift around, feeling his mother's finger rub his scalp. He slowly opened his eyes to see his mother smiling down at him. Ben sighed as he closed his eyes, again. He was still extremely tired. Not just because he stayed up until midnight watching chick flicks, but because his dreams were filled with the violet colored alien, Rook.

He must have looked tired because his mother sighed back. "Didn't sleep well?"

"No." Ben muttered.

His mother chuckled. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Not really." He muttered still half asleep.

His mother frowned. "You know, Ben, if there's something on your mind you can tell me."

Ben thought about the offer for a moment. He sighed, deciding that spilling guts would help. "Well, I like this person, but I'm not sure if they like me back or not."

His mother instantly lit up. "Oh! Who is she? Do I know her?"

"No." Ben said, only half lying. It was true that his mother knew Rook, but she didn't really KNOW him. She had only seen him a few times, but she never talked to him. He shuttered when his mom referred to Rook as a 'she'. "You don't know this person."

His mother thought for a moment. "Does Grandpa Max know her?"

"Yes."

His mother looked excited. "How exciting! My little boy is in love."

Ben shuttered again. In love? Was it possible? Ben sat up on the couch and looked at his mom. "Don't jump to conclusions, mom."

His mom giggled. "I'm sorry, honey. I just can't help it. You should tell me more about this mystery girl."

'Well, first off, this person is a guy, not a girl.' Ben said mentally. He thought better of it.

"Well, this person works with the Plumbers. I've know them for a long time, now."

His mother looked like she was about to explode with excitement, or questions. "How old is she? What's her name? Have you tried flirting with her? What does she look like? Oh, I bet she looks cute! You should invite her over."

Ben was becoming frustrated. He loved his mom, but she always did this when Ben had a crush. However, he could deal with all the questions and excitement. What he couldn't deal with was the fact that his mom kept referring his crush as a 'she'. He wanted to stop his mom's questions by spilling all his secrets, but he thought better of that, too. What if his mom didn't accept Rook? After all, Ben had only had girlfriends in the past. As far as his mom and everyone else knew, Ben was a straight dude. Perhaps not.

Ben just gave his mom a fake smile. "Maybe you can meet the person someday."

"Oh, Ben, PLEASE tell me!" his mother said, shaking with excitement.

Ben just stood up and looked at the clock. He realized that he was late. "Sorry, mom, no more questions. I've got to go!"

Ben ran up stairs to his room and returned moments later wearing a hoodie and holding his hover board. He combed his fingers through his ruffled hair, heading for the door.

As he walked though the door, his mom called after him. "Tell this person that I said hi!"

"I'll tell him!" Ben yelled as he closed the door behind him. He blushed a deep shade of red and felt his stomach doing uneasy flips once he realized that he had referred to Rook as a 'he'. Crud.

* * *

Ben's mom sat on the couch for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. Ben had called his crush a 'he'. Was it a mistake, or did Ben really like a guy? His mom shuttered at the thought. She had always told Ben that she would be fine with any life choices Ben made, but she was unsure what she thought about Ben falling for a guy. Her little boy was changing so much. When Ben turned eighteen, he promised his mom that he would still be her little boy, but she knew differently. This was the age which he would change and make new life decisions.

Ben's mom thought about everything Ben had told her. This person was a Plumber, and he knew him for a long time. Who could it be? The only person his mom knew that Ben worked with and had known for a while was Rook, his alien partner, but surely that couldn't be him. Although his mom hardly knew Rook, she knew that he and Ben were completely different people. Ben was human, Rook was an alien. Ben was eighteen, and Rook looked older. Maybe by a couple years? She didn't know.

Whatever was happening with Ben, his mom just hoped that Ben wouldn't get hurt. Girls were hard to understand, but they liked boys. If Ben was really in love with another guy (let alone an alien), then things would be much more complicated. His mom olny prayed that Ben wouldn't get crushed.

* * *

Ben hovered over to the Plumber truck at the edge of the street. Rook had told Ben the other day that he would be parked on a street, watching to make sure that the area was safe. Ben didn't comment. He knew that the street was always quiet and showed no signs of alien invaders, but Ben guessed that Rook had used that as an excuse to get some rest and relaxation. Ben didn't blame him. Although Ben wouldn't openly admit it, he knew that Rook worked much harder at his job than Ben. Although there were hardly any dangers anymore, he knew that Rook took every case as if were something extremely serious.

Once Ben got close to the truck, he hopped off his hover board and minimized it to fit in his pocket. Ben walked to the back of the truck and knocked on the back doors. "Rook? You there?"

"Yes. Please wait a moment." he heard Rook say from the inside.

Ben was patient as he waited for his partner to unclick the doors from the inside. After some shuffling around from the inside, Rook unlocked the latch and opened the side doors. Rook gave Ben a warm smile, letting Ben walk inside the back of the truck. Ben had been in the truck before, but whenever he walked inside, he was always amazed. Rook looked around the outside, making sure no one saw them. He then shut his doors, but didn't lock them this time.

Ben felt that feeling again. The feeling when Ben and Rook were in the same room or place together, alone. He felt nervous as his insides did knots. Once Rook closed the doors, Ben was glad the Rook didn't lock it. Now, if Ben decided to spill his guts and make a complete fool of himself, he could make an easy escape. He felt his chest becoming tight as Rook walked towards him.

Rook stopped for a moment as he sat down on one of his chairs. A while ago Ben had figured out that the reason his furniture and stuff didn't slide around while he was driving was because everything was bolted down to the ground. Ben took a seat on the other side of the truck trailer. There was an awkward silence before Rook spoke up. "I do not believe that there was anything to do today. What are you doing here?"

Oh, yeah. There wasn't anything to do that day. Ben felt himself blushing, but he hid it. "Oh, I just wanted to make sure that you didn't see anything that we could do."

Ben had been referring to ANYTHING they could do. Ben didn't feel like going back home, but he didn't want to visit Grandpa Max, either. He wanted to spend time with Rook, doing anything.

Rook took it the wrong way. "I did not see any work we could do today."

"No, no." Ben said. "I meant if there was anything we could … do."

Rook raised his eyebrow.

"I'm bored." Ben explained.

Rook looked confused for a moment, but then laughed. "I guess I am bored, as well. I asked if there was any extra training I could do, but the Plumbers said there was nothing at the moment. I am not sure what other things I could do."

"Rook," Ben said. "You can do ANYTHING. Well, almost anything."

"What do you suggest?" Rook asked, curious.

Ben thought for a moment. He had once introduced video games to Rook, but he didn't seem as interested in it as Ben had thought. He showed pranking to Rook, but he wasn't so hot on that idea either. What would Rook like? Then it hit Ben. Rook was all about training and working, but he never took time off just for himself. Ben would just have to work something fun into working.

"I heard that the forest next to the mountains has plenty of wild hogs. I also heard that they sometimes attack villages and eat their crops."

Rook lit up. "Really?"

Ben smiled. "Yeah. It is about a half hour drive. We should drive up there and chase them out into some place they won't bother the villagers."

Rook smiled back. Ben could feel his heart beating in his chest. He tried not to blush.

"Alright." Rook said with excitement.

* * *

During the whole drive, Rook and Ben talked about a bunch of things. Rook at first talked about work, but then let Ben talk about something else. Rook never got sick of work, but he knew that Ben did. So, Ben started talking about adventures he once had when he was little. Rook always enjoyed Ben's stories. Like usual, Rook had a million questions on what Ben was talking about. Although they had been partners for two years, Rook still had trouble processing human ways. However, Ben was always prepared for Rook's questions at the end of every story.

Suddenly, Ben felt less nervous. He always enjoyed these moments they shared of laughing and telling each other stories. He began to enjoy himself.

Rook then swerved off the road and parked the truck in the cover of the trees. Rook unbuckled his seat belt and opened his door. Ben did the same and jumped off the side, landing on the dirt ground. Rook closed shut him door and made sure that his Proto-Gun was clipped onto his belt, not wanting lose it.

Ben took in a deep breath of the forest air. He remembered when Grandpa Max, Gwen, and he would go camping with the RV, or also known as the Rust Bucket. He had missed those days, being with Gwen, but Ben knew that he wasn't alone. After all, he had Rook.

Rook walked up behind Ben. "Ready?"

Ben flushed, but then calmed down. He didn't expect Rook to get so close. "Yeah."

* * *

Rook and Ben were sitting on a hill, which overlooked the small village below. Rook expected the village to be much bigger, but he was happy to know that the village was small enough to watch over them. Although Rook had intended to watch intently, he couldn't help but talk to Ben. Just like Rook thought, Ben was going to mess around a little. Ben turned in Crashhopper while he wondered the village in the shadows. Rook was afraid that Ben would scare the villagers, but he seemed to go unnoticed.

Once Ben had finished exploring the village, he mega hopped to where Rook was sitting. Ben's omnitrix timed out, returning him to his original form. He looked pleased with himself. "Dude, these villagers are trying to wash their food before they eat it, but its sugar cane. It just washed away."

Rook looked concerned. "They'll starve if they keep doing that."

Ben laughed. "Don't worry. They have a lot of other food."

Rook looked past Ben, towards the villagers' crop field. "Not for long."

"What?" Ben asked as he turned around to see what Rook meant. Just like he thought, there were wild hogs. He grinned. "Oh, now we can have some real fun."

Ben twisted the knob of the omnitrix before he turned into Ballweevil. Rook chuckled at this. Ben had obviously wanted something else, but the omnitrix didn't always give him what he wanted. Rook quite liked it whenever Ben changed into Ballweevil. Not only was he small, but Rook thought that the form of him was cute. Rook blushed at his own thought, but shrugged it off and pulled out his gun. He smiled at Ben. "Let's go, before the villagers have nothing left to harvest."

"Alright." Ben relied in his cute voice. Luckily, Ben spit a ball of goo and rolled away before he could see Rook blushing.

Rook followed closely behind Ben, but was slower considering Ben was rolling and Rook was keeping a steady pace. Rook readied his gun, ready to fire at will. Down at the village, people were running and screaming, trying to keep their children away from the beasts that were destroying their crops. Ben rolled down to the field, hoping off the ball of goo. He kicked it towards one of the hogs, exploding in its face. The hog screeched in fright and ran away, but it also caught the attention of the others.

The hogs stopped eating the crops and swarmed around Ben. Their tusks made Ben nervous. "Whoa, guys. Look, I'm not that delicious."

The hogs continued to swarm around Ben, their mouths frothing.

Ben tried to stay calm. "I mean, just look at me. I look cute, but not edible. In fact, if you eat me, I wouldn't go down right. Honest!"

Then one of the hogs charged towards Ben from behind, lowering its tusks. Ben turned to see the hog coming towards him, but didn't have time to defend himself. He prepared for the impact and pain, but it didn't come. Instead, a ray had hit the ground next to the hog, sending it flying. It got up quickly and ran off. Another ray then shot out and hit a large group. Most ran off, but others stood their ground.

Rook stood next to Ben, ready to fire again if he needed to. He looked down at Ben and gave him a warm smile. "Need some help?"

"Thanks, Rook." Ben said before he spit up another ball of goo, sending it flying towards another group of hogs. The ball of goo exploded, sending some hogs flying backwards, and others sprinting towards the woods. Rook fired his gun a couple more times, but then a shrill scream caught his attention. Ben was now far away from Rook and didn't hear the scream. He just continued to shoot balls of goo at hogs. Rook looked around, looking for the source of the scream.

Finally, Rook's gaze rested on a small girl that had wondered too close to the field. The hogs saw her as a threat as they charged towards her. There were about three chasing her. Rook aimed to fire, but the girl was too close. He had to get a better shot. Taking a deep breath, Rook sprinted in the direction of the girl and hogs. As he ran, he shot a warning fire near the hogs, trying to get them to back off a little. This only made them stop and look at Rook, as if to attack him, but they were still targeted on the little girl who was now screaming and crying. However, the act gave the girl some more time to get more distance from the hogs.

Rook kept running towards them. He managed to get between the girl and the hogs, his gun pointed towards them. The hogs didn't stop; they just kept sprinting towards the alien and little girl. Rook took aim, and then fired. The shot was dead on, sending hogs and dirt flying everywhere. The hogs that Rook shot slowly picked themselves up, and ran off towards the woods.

Rook turned around to face the little girl that was hiding behind him. She looked up at him, in a daze. She must have never seen anything like Rook because she gave a silent cry of fright. Rook got down to his knees and smiled lightly. "It's alright. I won't hurt you."

Rook offered her a hand. She looked at it for a while, as if trying to decide to trust him or not, but then took the offered hand. Rook took the tiny hand in his, holding the crying girl close. Rook had never been a 'kids' guy, but he knew how to comfort them. He picked up the tiny girl lightly, not wanting to upset or hurt her. At the edge of the field, he saw a skinny woman looking at him.

The little girl who was cradled in Rook's arms looked at the woman. "Mommy!"

Rook walked over to the edge of the field, where more people had gathered to see the strange being that had saved the little girl. Once Rook walked up to the woman, he took the girl from his arms and handed her to her mother, who hugged the girl tightly. The woman was crying of joy to see her daughter was safe.

The woman looked at Rook for a moment. "Thank you."

Rook only nodded and looked towards the field. Ben had shot another ball of goo, sending the last of the hogs into the brush. Ben looked like he was tired out. Rook looked back at the crowd of people. He smiled and waved good bye as he turned and ran towards Ben.

"Ben!" he shouted.

Ben turned to face Rook. He was panting as he sat on the ground, still in his alien form. "Is … Is that all of them?"

Rook smiled and nodded. Ben lied on the ground, gathering some strength.

Rook looked over at the people. Most of them looked frightened, not sure what to make of the aliens. Rook looked down at Ben. "We may have saved them and their crops, but these people don't want us here."

"Figures …" Ben wheezed out. "You can go. I'm just going … going to catch my … my breath."

Rook laughed. He thought for a moment, and then took a brave move by picking Ben up in his small, cute alien form. Ben seemed taken aback by the motion. Although he was in an alien form, a dark red blush crossed his face.

Ben was hugged tightly to Rook's chest. Ben felt his stomach flipping and his chest becoming tight. He wanted to pull away from Rook, but he at the same time didn't. Ben remembered what he had told himself yesterday.

If he couldn't fight it, he might as well embrace it. He could feel Rook's warm chest warming Ben's tired body. Taking in a small and cute yawn, he snuggled up next to Rook's chest. This made Ben blush more, but at this point he didn't care. Ben had been saved by Rook countless times, but never like this. Rook wasn't exactly saving him, but Ben had never been like this with Rook. Snuggling next to Rook and sharing his body warmth felt wonderful. Ben knew that once Rook got to the top of the hill or the truck, he would place Ben back down, but Ben didn't care. He enjoyed every second he got.

Before, Ben felt nervous just being with Rook, but now he felt at home. He felt safe wrapped in Rook's strong arms. Ben completely forgot about wanting to tell Rook his true feelings. That would have to wait. He thought of pleasant thoughts of him and Rook as he drifted off into a light sleep.

* * *

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,

while loving someone deeply gives you courage."

- Lao Tzu

* * *

_EDIT: Okay. I wanted the moment when his mom found out he was possibly gay to be serious and thought filled, but sometimes my brain doesn't work like that. There ALWAYS has to be some point where I'm not serious and just free hand. I guess that was one of those moments. Is it funny? Is it serious? I don't really know. My brain works in weird ways._

_I decided to make this chapter have a cute ending. I always imagined Rook holding Ben when he's in a cute form._

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS))_


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 –

Ben woke up in his bed room. He was fully clothed, but he had a light blanket lying on top of him. Ben was confused at first, but then he remembered what happened. Being so tired from the lack of sleep and using all his energy in chasing away the hogs, Ben had fallen asleep in his alien form, Ballweevil, in Rook's arms. Ben blushed at the memory. Ben could remember the scent of Rook. With wasn't like anything Ben had smelt before. It was sweat and comforting. Ben had wished that he could stay in Rook's arms forever.

Now, Ben was lying in his bed. He suddenly felt too warm, so he tossed aside the blanket on top of him. As Ben rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, he continued to blush. Sure, he hadn't been able to tell Rook how he felt, but doing so would've made things awkward. Instead, Ben was certain that they shared a tender moment. Ben remembered that on the way home, Ben had woken up for a brief moment before falling back asleep. Rook had placed Ben in the passenger seat with a small blanket tightly wound around him. He must have still been in his alien form.

Looking out the window, Ben saw that it was just starting to get dark outside. Ben sighed. As he stood up, he stretched out his legs and spine. Whenever he fell asleep while still in one of his alien forms, his muscles would tighten.

Once Ben stepped out of his bedroom and into the small hallway, he could smell something good cooking. He carefully walked down the stairs to see his dad sitting on the couch, reading the newspaper. Once he heard Ben walking down the stairs, his dad lifted his head up and smiled at Ben. "Well, look who's awake."

"Ben, are you awake?" his mom called from the kitchen.

Ben yawned. "Yeah, mom."

Ben's dad folder his newspaper and set it on the couch. He looked at Ben for a moment, as if to say something, but he shut his mouth tightly. He passed Ben and began walking up the stairs. "Call me when dinner is ready."

"Sure." Ben said, but his father had already walked up the stairs and turned the corner.

Ben was confused. He shrugged and walked into the kitchen, where his mom was humming while she cooked something on the stove. When she saw Ben come in, she smiled. "How did you sleep?"

"Good." Ben answered. He sat down in one of the dining table chairs. "What was all that about?"

"What?"

"With dad. What was all that?"

His mom pretended not to understand, but when she realized that Ben wasn't falling for it, she sighed heavily. "Your father is just a little ticked off."

"At me?" Ben asked, worried.

"Oh, no, honey. He isn't mad at you." his mom said, reassuringly.

"Then what is he mad at?" Ben asked, looking at his mother with soft green eyes.

His mother sighed again before she turned down the stove to the low setting and set aside the wooden spoon she was using to stir. "Your father was just a little angry the way you came home."

"How did I come home?"

"Sleeping."

"Besides that." Ben said with a grin.

His mother forced a fake smile. "You were sleeping as a little bug thing."

"Ballweevil." Ben quickly corrected.

His mother chuckled. "Yes. Ballweevil. You came home snuggled in a blanket …"

"Yes?" Ben pressed his mother.

"Snuggled in Rook's arms."

Ben tried to hide a blush. He smiled slightly. "Yeah? Why is dad mad, though?"

His mother seemed uneasy. "Your father just doesn't like that. He thought Rook was getting too … cozy."

Ben felt more heat rise to his face, but he just chuckled. "Please, mom. I was the one getting cozy."

His mother gave a concerned glance. "Ben, I just don't want you to get hurt."

Ben smiled at his mother. "Mom, you know I'm careful on missions."

His mother sighed. "That's not what I meant."

She then looked away, not wanting to make eye contact with her son. Ben understood, but his face became rosy red. His mother must have known. Yes, he liked Rook, but he didn't expect her to figure it out so quickly.

His mother turned around and began stirring the dinner, again. "When you came here, your father answered the door. Rook told him that you fell asleep on a mission. He was a little ticked that Rook was holding you like that, but you can thank me for not making things more awkward then it already was. I told Rook that he could put you in your room. After he left, your father had made sure that you really were in bed, and that you were alright."

"Does dad not trust Rook?" Ben asked sheepishly.

His mother took a while to reply. "Well, not really. He knows that Rook has saved you before, but he just thinks that Rook is … getting too close to you is all."

"Mom, we're partners. That's how partners are."

Ben was glad that his mother wasn't looking at him. His face was almost completely red. After a moment of odd silence, Ben spoke up. "That's smells good, mom. What is it?"

"Beef stew." she answered kindly.

* * *

After Ben had finished dinner and was relaxed, he realized that he was still pretty tired. He went straight to bed and wrapped himself in his sheets. Ben felt the blanket that he woke up in on the edge of his bed. Ben realized that the blanket wasn't his. It must have been the blanket that Rook wrapped him up in. Ben smiled warmly as he placed the blanket under his comforter, making an extra layer. As Ben snuggled in his bedding, he pressed his face in the blanket. The blanket smelt like Rook, making Ben feel happy and warm inside.

That night, Ben dreamed of Rook again. However, these dreams weren't uneasy like the night before. They were warm and comforting, making Ben fall into a deep sleep. For once, Ben dreamed of Rook and was able to sleep soundly.

* * *

Ben rode his hover board over to Rook's truck like he did the day before. He felt nervous, like usual, but now he felt more happy than uncomfortable. When he got to the truck, he knocked on the back doors. Rook rustled around in his truck before he unlatched the lock, opening the doors for Ben. Ben smiled warmly at Rook, who returned the smile. Ben stepped inside the truck and took a seat in the corner. He couldn't stop thinking about their tender moment they had the day before.

Rook leaded against the side of the truck trailer. "We are needed for patrol today."

"Where?" Ben asked, putting his hands in his pockets, slightly nervous.

"The Undertown." Rook answered.

Ben sighed. He always enjoyed going in the Undertown, but the place was always too hot during the summer. Although summer was fading away and fall was slowly approaching, the place would still remain as hot as ever. Perhaps even hotter, now that he was with Rook.

* * *

As Rook walked with Ben through the Undertown, he couldn't help but feeling happy. Normally, whenever they walked close to each other, Ben would feel uneasy, or even nervous, but Rook now noticed that Ben didn't mind at all being close to room. In fact, Ben seemed almost pleased to be with him. Rook was happy. For once, he didn't feel the strange feelings that he had tucked away for the two years. He knew the feelings were still there, but now he could feel warmer inside, rather than cold.

Rook knew that he would eventually have to tell Ben all his feelings that he had tucked away for years, but for now he just enjoyed being with Ben.

And although he still didn't understand what these strange feelings were, he knew they were real.

* * *

Ben looked up to see the grin on his partner's face. Ben couldn't help but smile. He loved Rook's heart warming smile. The markings on his face were simply beautiful. Ben had to look away to keep himself from blushing. Had he been checking out Rook?

"There!" Rook suddenly shouted, snapping Ben out of his trance.

Off in the distance was one alien trying to steal a basket of flowers from a flower girl. Her stand had many colors of flowers, catching Ben's eye.

"I've got this." Ben said, changing into Four Arms.

Rook watched with interest as Ben ran towards the thief and suddenly held him in a death grip. The thief tried to wiggle free, but he was held in a tight hold. As he struggled, the basket of flowers fell to the floor. The alien girl ran over to her flowers and started picking them up.

She placed them all in the basket and smiled at Ben. "Thank you, hero."

"Don't mention it." Ben mumbled.

Rook ran over to where they were at. He pulled out a taser and shocked the thief, stopping his struggles. Ben dropped the thief to the ground, letting Rook cuff the thief. "You are under arrest." Rook said, like usual.

Ben changed back to his normal form, smiling at Rook. "That was easy."

"Thankfully." Rook mumbled.

The alien girl looked at Rook, blushing. "Thank you."

Rook looked at the alien girl. She was a cute little thing. Although she was an alien, she had a cute human-looking face. Her skin color was a turquoise. She had long, black hair and light blue eyes. She smiled at Rook.

"Thank you kind, Plumber." she said.

"Just doing my job, miss." Rook said kindly.

This made the girl, or more like a woman, giggle and blush some more. Rook blushed back. For some reason, Ben felt something twisting inside him. He felt angry at the same time. What was this feeling? Was he … jealous?

"WELL." Ben said loudly, catching Rook's attention. "We better take this guy to the base."

Rook looked at the thief, and then flushed with embarrassment. "Yes. I believe you are right."

Rook looked back at the girl, who gave him a wink. Ben must have seen because he did a loud, fake yawn. Rook was confused at what Ben was trying to do, but he just shrugged it off and grabbed the thief by the neck material around his vest. He dragged their captive as he walked away. Ben seemed irked for some reason.

* * *

On the way back from the base, Ben sat in the passenger seat with his arms crossed. Rook couldn't help but wondering what had suddenly set off his partner. Was it something he said?

"Ben, you seem angry about something."

"No, I'm not." Ben said defensively.

Rook looked concentrated. "Yes. I can see now. You are angry. But why?"

"I'm not mad, Rook." Ben said, this time more forcefully.

Rook only sighed. He thought for a moment, deciding that now was the right time. "If you tell me what is wrong, I will tell you."

Ben looked surprised. "What's wrong with you?"

"That wasn't the deal. You had to tell yours first." Rook retorted.

Ben sighed, deciding what to say. He knew deep inside what he wanted to say. 'I was mad because that girl was flirting with you and I didn't like it.' he had thought mentally.

"I will give you time." Rook said, seeing his partner's nervousness.

Ben thought about just telling Rook that there was nothing wrong, but Rook by now knew that wasn't true. Ben sat in silence, his heart becoming heavy. Was it the right time to tell Rook how he really felt? Ben wasn't sure. Maybe he could summarize it to not be EVERYTHING. Just enough to give Rook something to think about, and then tell Ben what was on his mind. Ben was extremely curious.

Ben looked at Rook, who had looked at Ben with a worried expression while they were at a stop light. "You have to promise to not tell anyone."

"I promise." Rook said, serious.

"And you can't say anything until I'm finished." Ben said, this time in almost a whisper.

Rook looked confused, but he just nodded.

The light turned green as Rook began driving again.

Ben took his time in deciding what to say. What did he truly feel? Ben thought about the exact words, but he knew deep down that speaking his heart would be the easiest way. He just hoped that Rook didn't hate him afterwards.

Ben took a deep breath, and then began. "I … I'm not exactly sure how to explain it. I've had these … feelings. I've been feeling them for a long time now. I feel sick, nervous, and even a little stressed whenever I'm … whenever I'm around you. Any time I'm around you, I feel like I'm going to pass out, but when I'm not around you, I … I feel alone. No matter who I'm with, I always feel alone."

As Ben said all this, Rook kept his eyes on the road, expressionless. Crud. What did Ben just do? He was such an idiot.

Suddenly, Rook drove off the silent road and parked at the side. He looked at Ben with soft and caring eyes. "Are you finished?"

"W-what?" Ben croaked, holding back hot tears.

"You said that I could not say anything until you were finished. Are you finished?"

Ben looked away, nodding. He knew that doing this was wrong. Sure, he felt as if a giant weight was lifted off his shoulders, but he couldn't breathe. Although he spoke his feelings, he felt as if a new emotion swept over him. Grief.

Rook looked off into the distance. There was a long silence before he spoke. "I have had similar feelings. I wasn't sure exactly what they were, though. Sometimes, when I go on solo missions, I feel lonely. Even if I go on missions with other Plumbers, it doesn't feel the same. Being with you feels exciting and dangerous, but whenever I'm not around you, I feel 'depressed'. I always told myself that I missed the missions, but I realized that I really missed you."

After that, there was a long silence. Ben couldn't believe it. Did that mean … did that mean Rook liked him back? Or was Rook just referring to them being close friends? Ben didn't know, but he didn't want to ask. Rook didn't hate him. That's all that mattered.

Ben felt hot tears rolling down his cheeks. Ben went to wipe them with his sleeve, but he felt a hand lightly hold his chin. Rook rubbed his thumb across Ben's check, wiping away the tears. Ben moved his gaze to meet Rook's. Rook's eyes were soft and caring.

Yes. Ben was sure that Rook wouldn't hurt him. He just knew it.

* * *

It was almost completely dark outside when Rook pulled up beside Ben's house. Ben unbuckled his seat belt and opened the truck door. He closed it and looked in the open window. "Bye." he whispered.

"Bye." Rook said back, smiling.

Ben turned away and began walking up the drive way, not wanting Rook so see him blushing a deep shade of red. He felt his heart pounding in his chest, remembering everything he had just experienced. After both had spilled their guts, they spent the rest of the time on the drive home talking about past experiences that they had retaining to their feeling for each other. Ben shuttered. Half that crud he saw on a chick flick. Weird.

* * *

_Oh my gosh. You have no idea how long this took me. When I got around to where Ben told Rook his feelings, I was literally staring at a white screen for an hour._

_You get to see the soft side of Ben in this I guess. Hope you peeps like it._

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS))_


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 –

"Where were you, young man?" his mother snarled.

Ben looked confused, but then realized that he had missed dinner, and it was almost time for his parents to go to bed. His mom was in her night gown, her arms folded.

"I was with –"

"With HIM?" his mom growled.

Ben was taken aback. "You mean Rook? Yeah. I was."

"Ben, perhaps I should call Grandpa Max."

"What? Why?" Ben asked, worried.

"I should tell him that you can longer have Rook as a partner." his mom said, now angry.

"WHAT? Mom, no! Rook and I have been partners for two years!" Ben cried.

His mom sighed. "I just don't trust that boy, Ben."

"Why?" Ben demanded.

"Ben …" his mom muttered. "I'm just looking after you. I'm … I'm afraid you'll get hurt."

"Mom …" Ben whispered. "I won't get hurt. I promise I'll be careful."

His mom looked hurt, but then turned away. "Just … be careful."

Ben stood in the living room for a few moments longer. What did his mom mean by 'you'll get hurt'? Ben had already told his mom he would be careful on missions, but Ben got the feeling she wasn't talking about that anymore. Ben shuttered. She must have meant Rook. She must have known that Ben was falling for him. She didn't want Ben to get emotionally hurt, not physically.

Ben sighed. This was going to be complicated.

* * *

The next day, Ben and Rook were given a special mission. Like a few days ago, crab-like aliens were crawling out of the sewers, thinking they were now safe from the alien changing boy and the violet colored partner. Ben and Rook sighed painfully when they were told that the aliens still hadn't been killed, or hadn't run away.

Rook and Ben were walking in the sewers. Rook's bright light showed where they were going. Ben sighed painfully. "Dude, this is just getting old."

Understanding, Rook nodded. "Indeed. These aliens won't seem to leave us, or anyone else, alone."

Ben moaned. "How long have we been down here? It reeks."

"About ten minutes." Rook answered. "My sensors don't detect any other alien life forms. Perhaps the sighting was just a mistake?"

"Well, even if it was, we would have to follow orders anyway."

"I guess you are right." Rook said.

Ben looked down at the strange liquid they were walking in. It wasn't high enough to seep through his shoes, but it was high enough to get the bottom of his shoes wet. He made a gross expression. "Is this what it looks like?"

"No. It is a strange and magical liquid that just appeared in this sewer for some random reason." Rook said sarcastically.

"Oh, so I see you learned sarcasm." Ben said playfully.

"I have known you for two years. What makes you think I wouldn't learn sarcasm?"

"Whatever." Ben said with a chuckle. "Let's just hurry. Although I LOVE being down here, I think the stink is going to kill me."

"Really?" Rook asked, looking worried.

"Nope."

* * *

After hours of searching, Rook and Ben decided to resurface and search the streets, hoping to see the crab aliens wondering around. Rook slowly opened the man hole and peeped outside, making sure the street was quiet. As he hoped, there was no one in the small alley. Rook opened the lid all the way and climbed out. Ben climbed closely behind him and crawled out, taking a dramatic breath.

Rook chuckled, and then checked his sensors. There weren't any alien life forms in the area, except for him. Once Ben climbed out and recovered the hole, he walked up beside Rook, watching him work his sensors.

"Is there anything?" Ben asked.

"No. There is nothing." Rook said, disappointed.

Ben thought for a moment. "What if we search at night?"

Rook smiled. "I would be fine with it. As long as you are able to."

"I'll figure out something." Ben promised.

* * *

Since Ben went home early, he helped his mom out around the house. He helped by doing little chores such as dusting, cleaning the counters, and vacuuming the down stairs. His mom was more than grateful for Ben helping around the house. After taking a short break, Ben went up to his room and cleaned it out the best he could, plus doing some of his laundry. Although Ben didn't really enjoy helping around the house, he felt as if he needed to do something, since he was no longer really working.

Once he was too tired to move, he lied on his bed and turned on his TV. He cross his legs and switched through then channels. He finally stopped at a channel. He sighed as he watched Glee for a few hours. Once the clock showed it was four o'clock, Ben decided to take a nap until dinner, to save up some of his energy.

* * *

Once Ben woke up, it was about time for dinner. He walked down stairs to see his parents talking while sitting at the dinner table. His mom looked at Ben, giving him a warm smile. "I'm glad you're awake. Dinner will be ready in a little while."

Ben smiled. "Great. What are we having?"

"Spaghetti." his dad answered.

Ben nodded. He smiled and took a seat next to his dad. "Hey, dad. How was work?"

"Boring." he answered while drinking some coffee.

* * *

After Ben finished his dinner, he did a wide, fake yawn. "I'm pretty tired. I think I'm going to bed early."

His mom nodded. "Alright. Sleep well, Ben."

"You, too." he replied as he walked up the stair case.

When Ben was inside his room, he waited for his parents to go to bed, closing their door behind them. Ben was under his sheets, in the dark. Once his parents had closed their door, his eyes shot open. He threw off his sheets to reveal that he was still fully clothed. Being as quick and quiet as he could, Ben opened his window. He quickly turned into Stinkfly as he flew out his window, closing it behind him.

Ben flew around the streets until he spotted his favorite alien partner leaning up against a tree, playing with his sensor. When he saw Ben coming near, he smiled. "So you came."

Ben landed on the ground and returned to his normal form. "Yeah, but it was pretty hard."

Rook looked confused. "What? How hard was it to fly here?"

Ben shook his head. "No. Flying here was the easy part. It was hard sneaking out without being noticed."

Rook was surprised. "You said you would work it out."

"Yeah, but you already know my mom won't let me go on missions during the night, unless its life or death."

"Actually, I hardly know your mom. She seems distant whenever I'm around, and I'm almost completely sure she doesn't like me. Plus, this mission COULD be life or death. I haven't worked that out on my sensors, yet." Rook corrected Ben.

"My mom likes you!" Ben exclaimed.

Rook folded his arms.

Ben sighed. "Alright. She doesn't like you that much. But she doesn't hate you!"

Rook laughed. "Well, I guess that is good news."

* * *

Instead of taking the truck, Ben and Rook walked along the sides of the streets. Rook had his bright flash light that shone from his Proto-Gun, which was slung across his shoulder, giving them some light. The streets where silent, showing no signs of life. Neither human nor alien.

Being alone with Rook made Ben feel nervous for the first time all day. For some reason, he hadn't felt nervous earlier, but rather happy. Being with him now felt awkward. Ben couldn't help but remembering the tender moment they shared before Rook dropped Ben back off at home. Ben had poured his heart out to Rook, and Rook to Ben, but afterwards, they had almost pretended as if nothing happened. Ben wasn't sure if he was to be relived or worried.

Ben nervously ran his fingers through his brown hair. He had remembered the comforting moment when he was in the form of Ballweevil and Rook had held Ben close to his chest, holding him tight. The memory wouldn't be soon forgotten. Then Ben remembered the bitter sweet moment the night before when Rook had wiped away Ben's tears lovingly.

At the time, Ben had wanted to snuggle up next to Rook's warm body, taking in the sweet scent of his crush. Although Ben used to be afraid of approaching Rook because of the fact Rook was a guy, Ben now didn't care. He liked Rook just the way he was.

* * *

Rook and Ben had been patrolling the streets for over three hours. Rook's feet were sore, but he stuck it out. He was used to it. When he was in training, he learned to never complain or ask unnecessary questions. He just simply did his job and never expected anything in return, not even praise. The only person he trained with briefly that gave him positive feedback was Max Tennyson. In fact, the only reason that he and Ben were partners was because Max would always favor Rook.

Rook looked over next to Ben, who was clearly becoming sore and tired, as well. Perhaps it was time to call it a night. "Do you suppose we have searched long enough for tonight?"

Ben yawned. "Yeah. There isn't really anything around here."

Rook nodded, tired. Thankfully, they had only been a couple blocks away from Rook's truck. Ben walked with him since his house was along the way. Once they got to the truck, Rook opened the back doors. He stepped inside, and then looked at Ben. "Are you sure you are awake enough to get home?"

Ben blushed. He was glad it was dark outside so Rook couldn't see. Ben thought about Rook's offer to stay with him for the night. He thought about just walking home, but it was true that he was extremely tired. He looked at Rook for a moment, grinning.

* * *

Ben woke up on a warm bed, covered in warm sheets. For a moment, Ben was confused as to what happened. Where was he? Then Ben remembered with a blush. He was sleeping in Rook's warm bed. He remembered what had happened when he smelled Rook's warm sheets. Just like the one Rook left Ben, they smelled sweet, just like Rook. Ben grinned slightly.

Last night, Ben had climbed into Rook's truck trailer. Ben couldn't remember exactly, but Rook had offered to sleep on the couch, yet they ended up sleeping together in Rook's bed. Perhaps because Ben said it was cold? He couldn't remember exactly. Ben could also remember how Rook changed from his Proto-Tech suit into some sweats. Naturally, Ben looked away while he was changing. However, Ben couldn't help himself from seeing Rook's toned muscles and beautiful markings. Although Ben had seen Rook's face markings, he had never seen his upper half. They were stunning. Was that the markings or muscles? Perhaps both. Rook's markings looked like a mixture of tiger stripes and tabby. Ben was almost disappointed when he saw Rook put on a shirt.

That was the first time he had seen Rook in clothes other than his Proto-Tech suit (and shirtless). Ben had just slept in his clothes, taking off his shoes. At first, Ben and Rook slept as far apart as possible, but at some point they ended up hugged in each other's arms. Ben remembered the tender moment they shared when Ben had snuggled up against Rook's warm body and Rook had buried his face up against Ben's. They stayed that way for most of the night, warped in each other's arms. Ben fell asleep to the sweet scent of Rook.

Now, Ben was still in Rook's sheets. After he concentrated on how he was positioned, he blushed a deeper shade of red. His face was buried under Rook's chin. Ben could feel Rook breathing steadily, ruffling Ben's hair. He could hear the soft heart beat coming from Rook's hard chest. Ben's hands were placed against his chest, feeling his muscles that were hidden beneath his shirt.

Ben didn't want to leave, but he knew that he was going to be in deep trouble when he got home, so he knew he had to get there before his mom did something drastic, such as calling the cops, or even the Plumbers. Carefully slipping out of the sheets, Ben found his shoes on the floor. He sat down on the couch, putting on his shoes and tying them.

As he began on his second shoe, he heard Rook shift around under the sheets. Rook opened his eyes, but shut them from the light that streamed through the vents on the side. He opened his mouth and gave a wide yawn. Interesting. He yawned like a cat.

Rook sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Once he was used to the light, he opened his eyes and looked at Ben with a warm smile. Ben's heart just about melted at the sight of more exposed Rook giving him an award winning smile. Ben gave a weak smile back.

"Are you leaving?" Rook asked sheepishly.

Ben nodded. "My mom is going to flip when I get home, but I still need to get there before she calls someone."

"Who would this someone be?" Rook asked, curiously.

"I don't know. SOMEONE. She tends to do that when she's freaking out."

"Oh. I am sorry that she will be mad at you." Rook said, now guilty.

Ben smiled, for real this time. "It's alright. She'll understand."

Ben finished tying his shoes and stood up. "I'll just fly home. I'll see you later, I guess."

"Alright." Rook said, lifting himself off the bed.

Ben opened one of the back doors just wide enough for him to slip out. "Bye." he whispered.

"Good bye." Rook replied before Ben shut the door. Ben leaned up against the door for a moment, placing his hand over his chest. His heart was beating so loudly, he thought Rook could've heard it. Excitement flushed over him. After last night, Ben knew that Rook hadn't forgotten their conversation from the night before. Good. Ben surely didn't forget it. He didn't want to.

* * *

_Rook ... just because you can SAY sarcasm doesn't mean you can understand it._

_Ben and Rook are starting to get 'cozy' with each other. JOY! _

_Yes. Ben is watching Glee. Happy moment._

_The only question is: who will the one to man up and kiss the other?_

_Ha ha. I bet most people thought they were going to 'do it' when Ben stayed for the night. Ha. Suckers. But don't worry. Soon ... soon._

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS))_


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 –

Ben already knew he was in deep trouble. He had stayed with Rook for the night, which meant he snuck out of the house during night. As he flew as Stinkfly, he thought of all the excuses he would give his parents. He was on a night mission. He had to leave since Rook needed back up. They needed to figure out where the crabs were coming from. A dog was being eaten by an alien cat. Okay, that one was a bit much.

Ben then landed on his front yard just as the sun was coming up. Ben instantly changed into his normal form and walked up to his front door. He expected his mom or dad to come running out screaming, but instead the door was slightly open. Ben took in a deep breath and entered his house. Both his parents were sitting on the couch, looking at the TV. Good, they didn't see him come in. Moving quickly, Ben went to walk up the stairs, but he was stopped.

"Ben? Could you come over here please?" his mother said aloud.

Ben frozen, and then sighed. "Yes, mom."

"Take a seat, son." his dad said calmly.

Ben sat on one of the recliners, trying to look calm.

His mother took a deep breath. "Ben, where were you?"

Ben thought for a second, and then decided that he should tell the truth. "I was patrolling with Rook."

His father made a disgusted expression at the sound of Rook's name. It was obvious that wasn't the answer he wanted. "Benjamin Tennyson, what WERE you doing?"

"I said I was patrolling." Ben said quickly.

His father looked like he wanted to say something nasty, but his mother stopped him. "Ben, we talked it over and decided that it would be best if you took a break."

"A break?" Ben said, worried.

His mother nodded. "We have called Grandpa Max telling him that you need to take a break doing your job."

"Wait, what?" Ben said forcefully.

"You are to stay at home at all times unless your mother sends you out to do something." his dad explained.

"Wait. Am I being GROUNDED?" Ben asked.

His father simply nodded.

"But this isn't fair! I'm eighteen!" Ben cried.

His father looked cross. "You still live under our house, so you live under our rules. Eighteen or not, you're grounded. That means no going on missions, no fighting aliens, and no seeing Rook."

"But Rook's my friend!" Ben said.

His dad gave a sour expression. "Even so, you can't see him."

Ben sighed painfully. "How long am I grounded for?"

"That depends on how you act." his mother said.

Ben hated that. Sometimes, his parents wouldn't give him an exact time of how long he was grounded. They would always say, 'we'll have to wait and see'. Ben hated that saying more than anything. He hated that more than the word 'maybe'.

Ben opened his mouth to say something, but knew there was no use. He just looked at the ground and nodded. His mother seemed to like the notion, seeing her son was giving in. However, his dad still had a sour expression. It was clear he didn't like Rook. At all.

"Go to your room while your father and I talk." his mother whispered.

Ben didn't say anything as he slowly got up and walked towards the stairs. He looked back for a moment to see that his parents weren't looking at him. This made Ben feel hollow inside. He just sighed again as he walked up towards his room.

* * *

"I don't like that boy." his father snarled.

"Well, I didn't like him that much either, but remember that we are grounding Ben for leaving at night without saying anything, NOT being with Rook." his mother corrected.

His father still had a nasty expression. "Yes, but I'm afraid Ben is becoming …"

His mother looked up, waiting for her husband to finish his sentence. He didn't.

"Gay?" his mother finished for him.

His father seemed struck by the word. No son of his was going to be gay. Not even bisexual.

His house, his rules. That was that.

* * *

Rook changed from his sweats and t-shirt to his Proto-Tech suit. He never wore such clothes in public, but he wore them whenever he was tired. No one had ever seen him ware such things, except for Ben. Rook smiled at the memory of last night. Although he had planned to sleep as far away from Ben, to give him space, he couldn't help himself from snuggling in each other's arms.

Once Rook was back in his Prot-Tech suit, he pulled out his Proto-Gun, noticing that it was dirty. Rook sat down on the couch, cleaning it with a cloth. Once he finished, he decided that his Proto-Gun needed adjustments. Once Rook started fixing something, he couldn't stop until he was finished. It was just who he was.

* * *

Ben sat in his room, in a complete daze. Who knew how long he would be 'grounded'? The longer he was grounded, the longer he had to stay away from Rook. Ben tried to think of ways he and Rook could be together, but any idea he had involved breaking the rules and going behind his parents' backs. He was in enough trouble as it was.

Then, Ben thought of something. What if he just moved out? He was old enough, but he had never lived on his own before. He wanted to move, he could. He had lots of money stashed away from being a Plumber. Ever since he turned eighteen, he started getting paid. Although he had humbly said he worked for free, he needed to be paid since he was legal aged. How much money did Ben have?

Ben got off his warm bed and walked over to his night stand. He opened the drawer, and then looked under it. There was a white envelope taped to the bottom. He carefully pulled it off and sat back down on his bed. Opening the envelope, he pulled out a giant wad of money. He counted it, huge eyed. He hadn't counted the money in forever. Last he checked, he had a little over fifty dollars. However, after months of adding paid money, he had over six hundred. He smiled. Was he really considering moving out? Just because he wanted to be free to visit Rook?

Ben thought about it for a minute, but then realized that he didn't want to move out just because of Rook, he wanted to move because of what his father said. As long as he lived in this house, he would be under his parent's rules. Perhaps it was time Ben started making his own rules. Deciding that he might as well look, Ben taped the envelope back under his drawer and went over to his computer.

He switched it on and opened the internet. Once he was on an open window, he searched for open apartments in his area. To his surprise, there were lots. Out of curiosity, Ben looked at apartments that he thought looked nice. After almost an hour of searching, he found a few nice ones. One of which was a nice large one, but it was expensive. The monthly payment was one hundred dollars a month. However, the payment included electrical, water, and everything else. Plus, he made over two hundred dollars a month from working. Saving the apartment as a favorite, he closed the window, needing time to think about it.

Once his dad left for work that day, Ben helped his mom around the house and did just about anything she made him do. For some reason, Ben thought of this as slave work. Although his mom did SOME work, Ben did most of it that day. He did other people's laundry and cleaned just about every place he could. Once he was finished, it was around three o'clock and he was tired. He went up to his room, lied in bed, and fell asleep. He didn't wake up until seven o'clock. He missed dinner, so he just went back to his computer. He couldn't help but opening the apartment list, again.

* * *

Ben's dad sat at the couch, grumbling. "That boy is getting lazy. Sleeping through dinner ought to be a crime."

"Oh, don't be like that." his mother muttered. "He helped me clean the house today. In fact, he did most of it."

His dad sighed. "He's eighteen. He needs to start taking responsibility."

His mom stared at her husband. "Ben had been taking responsibility. Sure, he slips up every now and again, but he really is turning into a man."

"Slowly." his dad grumbled.

* * *

After hours of thinking, Ben decided that it wouldn't hurt to take a look at the apartment he wanted. Ben decided that he would go to the store for his mom. He would get the groceries and then quickly visit the landlord. Seemed legit.

Ben then when to bed, thinking of Rook. His chest felt tight at the thought of having to be apart from him for so long. Perhaps that would all change.

* * *

The next day, Ben woke up and got himself ready. He wanted to look somewhat presentable. Over the night, he had put his plan into action. He drank all the milk and emptied the fridge. He went back to bed with an aching stomach, but he had to do whatever was necessary. For Rook.

Thankfully, after he took a shower and got dressed, he went down stairs to see his mother looking at the fridge, puzzled. Ben smiled. "Morning, Mom."

His mom smiled warmly back, but still looked confused. "Morning, honey. Hey, did you notice we're out of mostly everything?"

Ben shrugged. "I haven't noticed."

His mother grumbled as she shut the fridge door. "How about after breakfast you go get some groceries?"

Ben grinned. "Sure."

Ben didn't have much for breakfast. He was still full from everything he drank and ate that night. He just had a banana and some coffee. Before he left, his mother scribbled something down on a note pad and gave it to Ben.

Ben only smiled as he walked out the door. Yes! His plan had worked! He hoped into the car (his mom's since he was grounded from his own) and began driving to the store. However, once he found a parking space, he hoped out of the car and made sure no one was watching. He carefully slid the omnitrix and changed to XLR8. He sighed with relief once he realized that the omnitrix gave him what he wanted for once.

He quickly zoomed past the parking lot and blocks of homes. Just like he planned, he got to the apartment buildings within seconds. He quickly changed back to his original form and leaned against a tree. Just like he had hoped, the landlord came out at the time they had set up. Ben smiled warmly.

"Hello, Mr. Tennyson." the man said. He looked old and worn down, but was tall and strong.

Once they were done greeting each other, the landlord brought Ben to the apartment he had wanted. Just like the picture, the apartment was very large and nice looking. It looked almost new. No wonder it was so much. Ben had brought his money along, just in case. The landlord gave Ben all the facts about the place, the history and such. Ben knew that he should've thought it over some more, but he somehow ended up getting the apartment. And even though he needn't pay the first payment for a while, he gave the landlord enough money for the first two payments. Seemed about right.

* * *

Ben walked into the house, arms full of bags. He took a quick look at the digital clock, and smiled. Yes. Just as he hoped. He got home within an hour.

Ben walked into his kitchen and placed down all the bags on the counter. Since his mom wasn't around, Ben decided to put everything away, considering he also had frozen stuff. Ben was happy now he got to leave his home. The only question was, how was he going to tell his parents? This was going to be hard. After all, he was grounded. If he left, his parents might be cross. He loved his parents, but he sometimes wished he could get away from it all.

He heard the back door open. Ben rounded the kitchen corner to see his mom walking in. She saw Ben and smiled. "How did it go?"

"What?" Ben said, worried his mother knew he was at the apartments.

"Was there traffic on the way to the grocery store?"

"Oh." Ben sighed. "Not really. Just long lines."

"Oh. That's good." she said as she took off her coat. She placed it on the rack next to the door. "I'm going to be in my and your father's room."

"Okay." Ben said as he pretended to be doing something with the bags.

Once his mom walked down the hall and shut the door behind her. Ben went into action. He quickly turned the omnitrix and changed back into XLR8. With his new super speed, he sprinted down to the basement, where all the cardboard boxes were.

* * *

Rook sighed as he leaned up against a tree in the shade. He hated this. He felt that same feeling that he had years ago when Ben was gone. He felt longing. He knew that Ben had been 'suspended' from doing his job until further notice, but Rook felt gloomy by the fact he couldn't see Ben until then.

While Ben had been suspended, Rook did special missions to the side and helped out the rest of the Plumbers. At this point in time, Rook was well respected and thought highly of by the other Plumbers, and not just because he was Ben's partner. He had been the highest at his academy and could deal with almost any situation. He couldn't deal with being separated from Ben.

* * *

Finally, Ben was done. He changed back into his original form and looked at the great work. He had packed everything he wanted to take to his apartment into boxes and stacked them all up. Now, he just had to figure out a way to tell his parents he was leaving. Had he rushed into this? Ben had decided to move only a couple days ago. Perhaps he was getting ahead of himself. Well, he had already paid for two months worth of payment, so there was no going back now.

Ben thought the best part of moving out would be the freedom, but he now knew it was the fact he got to see Rook. This was going to be great.

* * *

With what time Rook had away from Ben, he had finally been accepted into the Plumber's Homing Program (PHP for short). Rook hadn't understood why they didn't accept him earlier, but he was now able to be moved into an apartment.

The PHP was a special program that the Plumbers had for alien Plumbers who needed homing. Rook had been put on the waiting list a few months ago. He had decided when he came to earth that he would just live in his truck, but a few months ago he decided that he needed his truck for all the equipment that he had stored away at HQ. The storage area had become overcrowded, so Rook needed to find a new place for all of it. Waiting to apply for an apartment was one of the biggest mistakes he made. Sure, he needed it, but he had been foolish to wait so long to apply for one.

When the HQ had called him and told him that he could now move into an apartment in a selected building, Rook had almost completely forgotten about Ben and his separation as he basically knelt to the ground and silently cheered. Perhaps now he could have a REAL place to live.

As Rook began to pack up his stuff, he couldn't help but remembering Ben. The memory made him feel pained inside. He missed the small boy. Well, he wasn't a boy anymore. He was eighteen now. Then again, Ben had turned eighteen just a few months ago. Plus, he still acted as if he were sixteen. Ben had grown taller to the point that he was almost as tall as Rook. Rook had always teased Ben about how Rook would always be taller. He didn't really mean it in a mean way. In fact, it was most likely true that Rook would always be taller than Ben. After all, his kind were known for being tall and husky. Rook was considered 'odd' for his kind because of the fact he was more well built than husky. He sure was tall, though.

After two years, Ben seemed to stay in his 'cute white boy' stage. Rook had sometimes wished that Ben would stay like that forever. Although, Rook had learned a year ago that Ben had needed to start shaving when he left his face unattended for a few weeks. Rook said nothing about his facial hair. If Ben wanted to shave it, then he would. Rook had learned a lot about humans for the past two years. He had learned that when males matured, they grew facial hair.

About a few months after Rook and Ben became partners, Rook was fascinated by the coloring of Ben's face. When Ben had gotten a little too close to Rook or Rook smiled in a warm way, Ben's face would turn a pinkish color. Sometimes, it even turned a bright red. Rook had pondered about this for a while, so he searched deeper into it. Just like he thought, his face would change colors depending on the feeling or situation. Rook learned that if a human couldn't breathe, their face would turn blue or even purple. If they were embarrassed, their face would turn pink or red.

Rook had once even asked Ben about the coloring of his face whenever Rook was near, but Ben just shrugged and his face turned from pink to bright red. What was he embarrassed about? Rook now knew. He, too, would turn a pink or red whenever around Ben. It must have been the same feeling.

Another feeling that Ben and Rook shared was when Ben had been 'kidnapped' by Kyper. Sure, it was all planned out so Rook and Ben could track down Kyper's ship, but they both had felt after effects. Rook knew that he was just acting (mostly), but he still felt his chest tighten with agony at the fact he had yelled at Ben. The truth was, he had yelled at Ben, and meant it. That was what hurt. He meant the words he said. He had yelled at Ben for always having to save his butt. However, he only said so much. He wanted to yell more while he could, but that wasn't the plan. Rook had wanted to scream at Ben how no matter what happened, Ben never got the hints. He never could see the Rook liked him and deeply cared about him. Why was Ben so stupid? How could he have not seen that Rook was hurting? This had made Rook angry, but he willed himself not to scream his feelings out to Ben. That wasn't the plan.

As Rook drove away that day, he felt hollow inside. He had wanted to say so much more, but he didn't. As he had left Ben behind, he had wanted to quickly turn back and squeeze Ben to death, telling him he was sorry for the harsh words. He wanted to tell Ben his feelings, but he didn't want to yell anymore. He just wanted to confess. How strange that it took two years for both of them to confess, and had only done so because Ben was jealous of a girl flirting with Rook. Figures.

While Rook packed, he couldn't help but get lost in the technical mind of his. Rook had learned that when two humans 'liked' each other well enough, they would start 'going out'. Rook hadn't understood what that term meant, but he soon figured out that it was when they were considered and 'item' or a 'couple'. In other words, they would be in a relationship. If they were in that relationship for long enough, they would have deeper feelings for each other, taking their relationship to a whole new level. It had scared Rook when people were referred to as 'lovers' and he didn't need to wonder or ask what they meant. He knew. If the relationship progressed, then they would … 'connect' with each other. Rook didn't like to think about it too much.

Rook had never had a lover. In fact, he had never felt too much love at all, not even the family kind. Rook shook his head, not wanting to think about his past. The most love he ever felt was when he was taken in by the Plumbers. That wasn't real love though. That was adoption. The most feelings he had ever had for a being was Ben.

While Rook was thinking about it, he wondered if he and Ben would ever be an 'item'. He blushed deeply at the thought. Perhaps not.

* * *

The sewers had been abandoned long ago when the creatures were terrified of the violet alien and the transforming human. This place, their home, wasn't safe anymore. They could no longer mate and reproduce without being blasted by the pair. They were seen as evil, killing their family and destroying their home. They had to move. There was no choice. But where to move with so many humans around and hardly any safe place to hide? Easy.

Once the alien-crabs had crawled down through the city and into the forest, they had to find a dark and damp place to live and reproduce. After all, the forest alone wouldn't suit them. They needed a REAL place to live together, as a family. After a tiring night of searching, and with only a dozen members of the family left, they found a suitable home. A ship. It was abandoned, warm, damp, and dark. Just what they needed. Within two nights of living in their new home, they repopulated from a dozen or so to almost fifty. Not counting the dozens of eggs they had just laid that night. After they hatched, they would once again be strong enough to have whatever they wanted. After all, the ship was becoming overcrowded. It was time for an upgrade.

* * *

_There is a lot of information in this chapter. For example, there is information about Kyper, Ben and Rook's feelings, and an update on what the current situation with the crab-aliens is right now. _

_Enjoy!_

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS))_


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 –

Rook had just placed everything in his new apartment when his Plumbers Badge 'rang'. Whenever Plumbers wanted to contact each other, they used their badges to do so. Rook's badge only rang when Max needed to tell him something urgent, if other Plumbers needed information from him, or Ben was calling. Rook tried not to get his hopes too high.

He pressed the badge, activating it to answer. He placed it on his coffee table while he rummaged through one of the boxes. "Hello?" he said aloud, since the badge was set on speaker.

"Rook? It's me, Ben."

Rook froze, but then went back to sorting through the box. "Hey, Ben. Has your suspension been lifted? I haven't heard any news."

"Well, I guess you could say that. I was placed under 'suspension' by my parents. Their house, their rules. I don't live there anymore, so it's my house, my rules. I haven't called Grandpa Max yet."

Rook processed this. "You have moved out?"

"Yeah." Ben answered. "I got an apartment."

Rook laughed.

There was a pause on Ben's end. "What?"

Rook stopped shifting through the stuff to sit on a chair with a grunt. He hadn't sat down for two hours of doing nothing but lifting boxes from the bottom of the building to the top. "I have moved into an apartment, too. Such a thing would be called a coincidence."

Ben laughed on the other end. "Really? Wow. I didn't expect that."

Rook laughed again, this time more weakly.

Ben paused, again. "Rook, are you alright?"

As if in response, Rook yawned. He had been so tired and careless, his sharp teeth almost clamped down on his tongue. He was stunned by the snapping sound that was made when his teeth clamped down. He just chuckled. "Yes. I've just been unpacking for a long time."

Rook closed his eyes for a moment, but then snapped back open to the sound of Ben's voice.

"I guess I'll be heading back to HQ tomorrow." Ben said, changing the subject.

"Alright." Rook replied sheepishly.

There was a long pause before Ben spoke up. "I … I missed you. Like … a lot."

Rook's eyes were closed, but he was listening perfectly. He grinned. "As did I."

* * *

Ben had taken all his things into the apartment building. When he had told his mom that he was moving, she was surprised. She seemed to forget the fact that he had been grounded. She cried with sorrow and joy that her son was moving out. Ben hadn't been able to breathe as his mother squished him in a giant huge.

When Ben left in his car with all the boxes, he waved goodbye and gave her a warm smile. He hadn't been home to tell his dad goodbye, or that he was leaving, but he promised his mother that he would return the following morning to say his proper goodbye. There was no question that his mother would also give him a pie.

* * *

Rook had promised Max that he would report to HQ at noon. It was almost an hour to noon, but Rook had always had a habit of showing up to work an hour early. This was one of the many reasons that Max had favored Rook. He was reliable and could take any form of orders.

Once Rook got to HQ, the first thing he did was take all his equipment out of storage and put it into his now empty truck. He had finished placing everything inside when he suddenly felt dizzy. He hadn't slept well that night, thinking only of Ben. Plus, the first thing he did that morning was move everything he owned from his truck to his apartment. On top of that, he hauled everything from the top of HQ down to his truck. Other Plumbers had offered to help, but Rook knew they had work to do.

Rook sat on the ground of his truck trailer in the far corner. After three hours of hauling and lifting, he sat down for the first time. Everything seemed to crash down as Rook's vision went blurry. At first he resisted, but then he gave into sleep.

* * *

"Do you know where Rook is?" Ben asked.

His grandpa took another sip of his soup. There was most likely some foul ingredient inside. "He was here about an hour ago. He was moving his equipment from the storage area to his truck. He might be there."

"Thanks, Grandpa!" Ben shouted as he ran out the door. Ben then took the elevator to the bottom floor. He ran through the base and launched himself out the front door. Just like he thought, Rook's truck was hidden behind other parked cars. When Ben walked to the back, he was surprised to see that the side doors were open.

"Rook?" Ben called as he stepped inside.

There was equipment cluttered everywhere, making the place crowded. Most of the stuff was Proto-Tech, things that Rook invented. As Ben weaseled through the things, he thought he heard something coming from the back. Ben listened carefully. Was that … snoring? Maybe.

Ben walked past yet another large piece of Proto-Tech to see his crush silently sleeping in the corner. He wasn't exactly snoring, but making a cute noise whenever he exhaled. Ben chuckled, and then blushed. Rook was cute when he slept.

Ben thought for a moment, and then decided on a devious plan.

* * *

Rook woke up to find that he was still in his truck trailer. He sighed as he picked himself up. He easily weaseled through his equipment as he headed for the back door. It took some time to unlatch it, but he was able to open the doors. Sunlight spilled in though the open doors. At first, Rook squinted and shielded his sensitive eyes, but he quickly adjusted to the light. He made sure he had full vision before he stepped out of the trailer and latched the doors behind him.

Rook was still in a haze of sleepiness, so when he opened his driver's door to see Ballweevil hanging from he ceiling, his heart nearly beat out of his chest.

"AHH!" Rook cried before he stumbled back. He was able to catch himself from falling, but he couldn't catch Ben from laughing. Rook gave Ben an annoyed stare. "What was that for?"

Ben dropped off the ceiling and fell onto the driver's seat. He transformed back into his human form. "I was bored."

"That explains everything." Rook grumbled as he rolled his eyes and picked himself up.

"Ah, don't be like that." Ben said cheerfully.

Rook still looked irritated, but he lightened up a little. "Whatever do you mean?"

Ben looked at Rook to see that he was grinning and slightly blushing. Ben smiled. He both hated and loved it when Rook did this. They had been partners for two years, so Rook had had time to understand some earth expressions and how to speak a little better. Ben knew when Rook pretended as if he didn't understand something. It was cute.

Ben just continued to smile as he slid into the passenger seat. Rook sat down in the driver's seat and closed the door. His heart was still thumping out of his chest, but it wasn't from being frightened. He had missed Ben very much. Seeing him again in his mischievous state bright warmth to Rook's heart.

For about an hour, all Ben and Rook did was drive around at random and talk about what happened in the past few days they weren't together. Rook had done almost nothing but work while Ben had his family 'problems'. As Ben explained everything, he left out the part about how his parents thought that Rook was a bad influence because he might be gay. Ben didn't say it, but Rook knew that Ben was angry at his parents. Rook didn't press Ben.

At around sun set, the pair decided that it was about time they stopped somewhere. Ben hadn't known that Rook was driving to the top of the hill over viewing the city until they took the long and narrow path leading up the hill. Once they got to the top, Rook parked the truck and stepped out. He in took a large breath of fresh air, needing to be out of the stuffy truck. He had never gotten used to the toxic smell of gas like Ben and other earthlings had.

Ben stepped out of the truck, confused. He had been up the hill before, but he had never really enjoyed it. All that he found it good for was over looking the city below. However, he had never been to the top of the hill at sunset. Ben walked to the front of the truck, but was surprised when he saw that Rook had already walked off in the distance. Ben walked fast to catch up, but Rook had already sat down on the grassy ground. He sat near the edge of a steep cliff, leading down to the edge of the city. Ben sat down and joined Rook.

The top of the hill was owned and managed by the city gardeners. Every afternoon the sprinklers would go off to water the grass, and every morning people would come by to clean up any trash. Normally by trash, they meant beer cans and condoms. When the sun set, couples and their friends would 'do' stuff. Ben shifted uneasily.

"Why are we here?" Ben asked.

Rook shrugged. "No particular reason."

"I've been up here before and –"

Rook placed his finger to Ben's lips, silencing him. Ben blushed slightly. Rook then pointed his finger off into the side distance, where there were giant red wood trees. Ben was confused at first, but he then saw what Rook was pointing out. There was small fox walking through the brush. It seemed nervous at first, but then it began to walk move into the open area. Ben smiled as he watched four smaller foxes following their mother. Ben stole a glance at Rook to see he was smiling as well. Now that Ben thought about it, he had never really taken the time to watch the natural things of nature. He had always been too busy being noisy or destructive. Ben could now hear the chirps of birds and the rustling of critters in the brush.

When Ben looked at Rook again, Rook was no longer looking into the brush. He was staring out towards the city. Ben followed his gaze, wide eyed. The city looked amazing during the day, but during sundown it looked beautiful. Lights from the towers and homes made bright and colorful lights around the city. Ben had been staring at what felt like forever.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Rook muttered.

Ben turned his gaze to see Rook still staring off into the distance. His face was lit up by the shades of the sunset, making him look stunning. Ben couldn't help but staring. After looking at Rook for a while, Rook felt his gaze and turned towards Ben. For some odd reason, they both just gazed into each others eyes. Somehow, they ended up from being a couple feet apart to being closer than they thought. How had that been possible? Ben's heart pounded in his chest. He then realized why they were getting so close together. For some reason, they both started slowly leaning towards each other.

Ben knew what was happening. His heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest with nervousness, but at the same time he felt excited. Ben had secretly dreamt about something like this, but he never expected something like this to ever happen. Before he realized it, Rook and Ben's lips were inches apart. They both in took a quick breath before their lips touched.

Ben had been frightened at first, but then excitement rushed through him. Rook's soft lips mashed with Ben's. Once they warmed to each other, they both parted their lips to change from a peck to something tenderer. Although the kiss had only lasted for about a dozen seconds, it felt like forever. They would occasionally tease each other by flicking each other's bottom lip with their tongue.

Ben had kissed girls before, but none were like Rook. When they pulled away, Ben could still taste Rook's lips on his own. The entire experience sent chills down his spine, giving him extreme excitement. By the look of Rook, Ben knew that his alien friend had had a similar reaction.

* * *

Ben now lied face down in his sheets, screaming like a girl. Well, he did so once, and then stopped once he realized how wrong that sounded. Ben's face was now completely red from embarrassment and excitement. Was it real? Did Ben really kiss Rook?

Ben turned over on his bed so he was facing up towards the ceiling. He clutched his beating heart. He had to take calm breaths as his excitement overthrew him. He licked his now dry lips. The sensation of Rook's lips pressed against his own would not be soon forgotten.

* * *

Rook had never done something like that before. He had never kissed another being in his life. Not even his own kin. Well, he had never really known his kin. The closest thing to a family that he had had was the woman that held him tight and comforted him. That was the closest thing to a mother he had. He had called her 'Nana'. He had also had a 'brother'. He referred to his playmate as 'Little Brother'. Nana and Little Brother was all he had ever had. The closest thing to a kiss to him was when Nana would comfort him by planting soft pecks on his forehead. He missed her and Little Brother.

Rook had once learned that kissing was a way for humans to show affection for each other. Rook had never known if this was also the way of his kind, but he had never bothered to study it for person reasons. He often longed to return to his plant, but he was afraid they would refer to him as a disgrace. Rook had changed, and not in the ways he desired.

* * *

On his way to work that day, Ben couldn't help but being excited. He couldn't wait to see Rook again, even though he was also nervous. What if Rook thought the kiss was a mistake? Ben shifted around uneasily in the driver's seat. He tired not to think about it too much as he pulled into the Plumbers parking lot. His Grandpa's old, run down place easily disguised their HQ. The hard part was how Ben could slip his car in and out without being noticed by fans. The trick was he had to drive through an alley as if he were a creeping predator.

Once Ben pulled up into a special parking area, he turned off the engine and stepped out of his car. He checked around uneasily to make sure there were no people around before he walked to the front door of his Grandpa's shop. Once inside, the clerk gave Ben a glance, then went back to whatever he was doing. He knew Ben, so he knew Ben was a Plumber. Ben kept an eye out as he went to the secret latch. He opened the latch and stepped inside the caged elevator. It wasn't long before he had entered the HQ.

Once down in the main center of HQ, Ben tried to spot his cat-like friend, but he was no where to be seen. Ben sighed as he walked off deep into HQ. He was told to meet up with Grandpa, but he wasn't sure where. He just assumed somewhere outside his office. Unfortunately, when Ben checked, his grandfather wasn't there. Ben became frustrated.

As another Plumber walked by, Ben caught his attention. "Do you know where Max Tennyson is?"

The Plumber looked at Ben for a moment, and then shrugged. "Last I saw him was by the training center."

As the Plumber walked away, Ben grumbled to himself. The training center was pretty far away, but Ben was determined to take responsibility. After he had moved into his new apartment, he had promised himself that he would take more responsibility.

Promised … responsibility …

Ben placed a palm on his head, realizing that he had forgotten to visit his parents that morning. Way to take responsibility, Ben.

Ben just hung his head as he began his trek towards the training area, just hoping that his grandpa was there.

* * *

Ben had finally reached the training center when he saw his violet friend. Ben blushed, deciding to approach Rook, and possibly talk about what happened last night. Once Plumbers cleared away, Ben saw that Rook was talking to someone. It was Grandpa Max. Finally.

Once the two saw Ben approaching, they both smiled at Ben. Ben saw Rook slightly blush, but he regained focus. He looked back at Max, who looked ready to continue whatever he was talking about.

"Can you handle it, Rook?" Max asked.

Rook grinned and nodded. "Yes, sir."

Max looked pleased as he walked off towards Ben. He motioned for Rook that he was going to talk to Ben alone. Rook got the hint and walked off to a different station. Ben looked disappointed as his partner left.

"Ben." Grandpa Max said as he placed a hand on his grandson's shoulder. "Your parents called. They seemed pretty worried."

Ben sighed. "I know. I told them I was going to visit them this morning. I was going to call them later and tell them I'll visit later today."

Grandpa Max nodded. "I figured that. I told them you would contact them as soon as possible."

"Thanks." Ben muttered, hanging his head.

Grandpa Max patted Ben's shoulder before walking off. He remembered something as he turned back to Ben, but his grandson had already walked off in the direction where Rook went. For some reason, Max thought that Ben and Rook were getting closer than usual.

Ben rounded the corner as his eyes darted back and forth, looking for Rook. After searching for a while, he pin pointed the violet alien leaning against a wall. When he saw Ben coming closer, he gave a warm smile.

"Greetings, partner." Rook said.

Ben grinned. "Hey, Rook."

Rook folded his arms and continued to lean against the wall. "Did Max tell you?"

Ben stopped grinning. "Yeah. He told me about my parents."

"What? What about them?" Rook said, slightly tilting his head.

"Wait." Ben said, looking puzzled. "Grandpa didn't tell you about them?"

Rook shook his head. "No. He had told me about our new mission."

"Oh." Ben said, surprised. "Well, he didn't tell me that. What mission?"

Rook smiled. "We were given a mission to investigate the alien-crabs."

Ben moaned loudly with boredom. "Haven't we already done that? I mean, we keep getting reports of them and everything, but we already checked the sewers. There isn't anything there."

Rook sighed. "Yes, I know. Nevertheless, we were given a mission."

Ben muttered something foul under his breath and then straightened up. "Well, I guess we are going back in the sewers."

"I guess we are." Rook said with a sly smile.

* * *

"This is totally gross." Ben said in disgust.

"The feeling is mutual." Rook agreed.

Like before, they walked inside the sewers with Rook's Proto-Light on. Ben didn't expect to see any alien-crabs (or anything at all for that matter), but Rook was fully intent. Ben had once hated that about Rook, but he grew to like this trait. Even on the smallest (and dumbest) of missions, Rook was fully prepared for anything. Grandpa Max had once told Ben that he should learn this from Rook, but Ben couldn't help his 'laid back' nature. Rook didn't expect anything like this from Ben, either. As far as Rook cared, Ben could be just as free willed as he wanted. He had always liked that about Ben, after all.

After some awkward silence, Rook looked at Ben. "Ben, you hadn't answered my question from before."

"What?" Ben said, confused. "What question?"

"I asked you about your parents back at head quarters. What is wrong?"

Ben sighed. "Nothing, Rook."

"They are worried about you?" Rook asked.

Ben looked surprised. "How did you know?"

"It is not hard to guess. They are your parents, and you just moved out, so they must feel worried about their offspring."

"Don't say offspring, Rook. It's just weird." Ben teased.

Rook didn't laugh, nor did he grin.

Ben frowned. "I was just kidding, dude."

Rook shrugged. "I am just confused is all. It is hard what to call such things. Children? Litter? Baby?"

Ben thought for a moment. "Litter?"

"Never mind." Rook said, shaking his head.

There was silence for a long time after that. Ben couldn't figure out what was wrong with Rook, but he decided to leave it alone. Rook would open up if he wanted to. It was an hour or so later when the silence was broken.

"My parents think you're a bad influence." Ben whispered.

Due to the echo, Rook heard perfectly. "What? Why? Max thinks differently."

"Yeah, well, my parents and my grandpa always have different opinions." Ben said rolling his eyes. "Anyway, they just think … they just think at you're … different."

"Different." Rook echoed in a whisper.

"Um … you know like …" Ben muttered, trying to find the right words.

Rook looked hurt for a moment, but then focused. "I know I am different, Ben Tennyson. I do not need to be told that for the millionth time."

Ben flinched as if he had been hit. He knew that Rook was irritated or meant business when he said Ben's full name. Ben couldn't blame Rook, though. Ben knew that Rook had once struggled with fitting in with the other Plumbers. He was indeed different. Then again, Ben didn't know why Rook was so defensive over such a thing. Ben had been puzzled when Rook was worried about what to call human children, but he was irritated now that Rook had snapped.

Rook sighed and looked lovingly at Ben. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap."

Ben patted Rook on the shoulder. "It's alright, dude."

Rook smiled, glad his partner had forgiven him. Before he could say something back, there was a rumbling.

Ben perked up. "What was that?"

Rook didn't answer. His gaze was fixed forward. When Ben tried to take another step forward, Rook placed his palm on Ben's chest, pushing him back. When Ben shot Rook a questioning look, Rook just kept his gaze forward.

"Rook –"

Before Ben could finish, the rumbling turned into shaking. Ben wobbled, about to fall, but Rook grabbed Ben by the arm before he could fall over. Rook pulled Ben's arm so that he could run, too. Even though the ground was shaking violently, Rook let go of Ben and began running. Ben followed closely.

The rumbling and shaking grew worse. Rook was desperately searching for higher ground. Ben stole a glance behind him to see that something huge was following them. In fact, there were actually many following them. Each one was about the size of a buffalo. And just like buffalo, they all ran in a herd.

Ben looked forward to where they were running. To his horror, there was a dead end. No way to turn back and no other way to run. He felt his heart racing. He turned to his omnitrix to change into something, anything, but he then felt a strong arm warp around his torso. Before he could realize what was happening, he was hoisted into the air and flung onto a pipe platform.

Ben landed with a thud. He slowly sat up and gathered what had happened. Rook was next to him, panting and clutching his chest. Rook had launched his grappling hook onto one of the above pipes, hoisting both him and Ben onto a platform. Rook then looked at Ben for a moment, but crawled on the platform to look over the edge, down below.

Rook had a similar reaction of horror as he watched the creatures hurry by. He turned to Ben with a strange expression. "They are the same alien-crabs that we once saw."

"What?" Ben exclaimed. He crawled over beside Rook, looking over the edge. To his dismay, Rook was right. The creatures that had once fought were no longer small and easily beaten, they were huge and ugly.

"See?" Rook said.

"Yeah, I see." Ben replied.

Rook thought for a moment before pulling out his Proto-Gun. Before he fired, he turned to Ben. "You might want to hold onto something."

Ben was confused, but he clung onto the platform, nevertheless. Rook then took aim, warming up his gear. After a few seconds of aiming, he took fire. The ray shot out at the mess of crabs. It hit dead on one of the creatures. It fell to the ground with a screech. Just as it fell to the ground, creatures that were running behind it tripped over the body or had to move around it. The ones that fell to the ground just quickly picked themselves up and caught up with the herd. Ones that ran around the dead body would often ram into each other and smash into the walls, causing the walls and platform to shake. Both Ben and Rook held on for dear life.

After about five minutes of holding on, the platform stopped shaking and the rumbling stopped. Ben opened his eyes that were shut tightly. The herd had run down deeper into the sewers. Ben quickly looked next to him to see Rook, and then sighed with relief that his partner was alright. Rook turned over to look at Ben. He smiled and stood up, offering a hand to Ben. Ben gratefully took the hand and was pulled to his feet.

"How did they get so huge?!" Ben cried.

Rook jumped off the platform and began walking towards the dead (and now trampled) crab. There were many long and thick legs on the creature. The legs had spikes on the side, making running into someone painful. One of its two front arms was in the form of a giant claw. For some reason, it now looked much bigger than a buffalo. The shell was rock hard and bright red. Rook inspected the dead alien, and then sighed.

"I fear they are breeding."

"Yeah, but let me repeat myself. HOW DID THEY GET SO HUGE?" Ben replied as he hopped off the platform to join Rook.

Rook snorted, something he did when he was irritated. "I MEAN, they are breeding all over again. After a while of breeding, a species can change traits as the bloodline is passed along. One of the traits these newly children have acquired is size. Another would be protection, due to their newly formed shells."

"These are CHILDREN? I would hate to see the mommy." Ben said sarcastically as he crouched down next to Rook.

Rook continued to stare at the creature as he took in the words. "Actually, you could be right. Due to the fact that they are breeding so rapidly, they could have a queen."

"You mean like bees do?" Ben questioned.

Rook nodded. "Yes. One giant mother –"

"- means a lot of giant babies." Ben finished.

Rook nodded, again. "Correct."

Ben suddenly perked up. "If these things attacked when they were tiny, what will they do now that they're huge?"

"Well, they seem to not be attacking people, anymore. In fact, they might just like it here better, due to the fact that this place is damp and warm."

"A perfect place for lying eggs." Ben muttered.

Rook placed his hand on his chin. "If we are to refer these creatures to bees, then there must be a separate place for the egg lying."

"I don't know that much about bees." Ben admitted.

Rook sighed. "Bees will work in the honey cones, making honey and collecting everything needed to keep their queen happy. However, the queen doesn't live and lay eggs where the drones work. She will stay in a separate area, being fed by her workers and lying new eggs."

Ben took in all the information, and then shook his head. "Then again, we could be wrong about this 'bee theory' idea."

Rook looked at one of the legs, and then smiled. "Really? Because this alien has garbage stuck on its legs. Or in other words, this is its food."

Ben noticed it, too. "Well, I doubt it's keeping it for a snack later."

"It is taking it to its queen." Rook muttered.

* * *

"What are YOU doing here?" the rat-like alien snarled.

"Cool it, Argit. I just wanted to ask you some questions." Ben said as he came to the speaker window.

Argit was in orange clothing and had hand cuffs attached to his wrists. Normally, prisoners wouldn't have hand cuffs on and just have a guard near by, but with Argit it was different. He had to have hand cuffs on and two guards watching him. He had attempted and failed at escaping once. Although Argit had the ability to shoot quills, he had had his long quills cut off short. Now, even if he wanted to, he couldn't fire quills anymore. Argit found this as cruel, but others had agreed that clipping his quills was a great idea. Ben was one of those people.

When Ben left after finding the newly evolved crabs, he went straight to the prison, wanting to get information out from Argit. That is if he knew anything at all. Ben had asked Rook if he wanted to join him, but Rook declined. He didn't want to get anywhere near that 'lowlife'. Rook instead said he was going back to HQ to dig up some more information.

"Well?" Argit said, irritated. "What do you want?"

"Have you heard anything about those 'crabs'?" Ben asked.

Argit made a sour face before answering. "Maybe I have. Maybe I haven't."

Ben rolled his eyes. He knew this would happen. Without saying anything, he reached down under the chair he was sitting on and pulled out a bag with chili fries, double cheese burger, and a smoothie. Argit gave him a questioning look, but Ben pulled out everything to show him it was real.

Argit loosened up and smiled. "Well, when you put it THAT way, I guess I've heard something about these 'crabs'."

Ben placed everything back into the bag and put it inside the slot. Argit pulled the slot open and opened the bag, breathing in the smell. He was so happy Ben thought Argit would cry. Argit set the bag aside and drank some smoothie.

"Continue." Ben urged.

Argit licked his lips. "Alright, let me think."

Ben tried to be patient. "I don't have all day, Argit."

"Keep you panties on, Tennyson. I'm getting there." Argit snapped. "Okay. These 'crabs' have been known for living in dark and damp places. They breed like crazy. No joke."

"I already know that much." Ben muttered.

"Well, aren't you special?" Argit said sarcastically. He placed his feet on the table as he bit into the cheese burger. "Well, you wanted information. So I gave it to you."

Ben gave a sour look before reaching back under the table. It was a pie tin a third of the way full with pumpkin pie. Ben hoped that Argit liked pie. Just for something special, he pulled out a can of whip cream. Argit's eyes lit up. He removed his feet from the desk and licked his lips.

Ben waved his finger in the air. "You aren't getting anything else out of me until you give me answers. Real ones."

Argit looked like he was about to say something foul, but he just sighed. "Fine. Shoot."

Ben smiled with satisfaction. "Alright. Tell me if you know anything about how they live."

"What?" Argit said, confused.

"What is their system like? Is there one breeder, or more? Tell me EVERYTHING and the pie is yours."

"And the whip cream?"

"Yep." Ben said, moving the food closer to the window to tease Argit.

Argit licked his lips once more before beginning. "Alright. Listen close cause I'm not repeating anything."

Ben nodded.

"Okay. So, these crabs don't have any specific name. They were just known as pests that fed off farmers crops on some planet. I can't remember which planet, though. Anyway, the more they eat the more they grow and breed. However, food is just so much of what makes that happen. In order for them to breed rapidly and grow to a bigger size, they have to have a breeding place that is damp, warm, and dark. And they need to have a queen. If the queen dies, the others die, too. So, you can see why they try to keep their queen happy. You would rather have more of your people die than have your queen die. You get me?"

Ben nodded, again.

"Good. Anyway, these things may be pests for farmers, but they are also prey to these predators. I don't know anything about what the predators look like or anything like that, but I do know that a couple years ago they died out. All that's left of them are bones. So, once the predators die, the prey becomes abundant. It got to the point where farmers had to move to other planets, or they just found different jobs. People were getting PAID for every one of these things they killed. People were into poverty and some relied on hunting to get money.

"No one was really working. Everything went bad just because of these stupid crabs. Anyway, people got so sick of them they stopped killing them for money and just basically rounded them all up. The plan was to shoot them all down right on the spot, but these people were hungry and stupid. There just so happened to be a ship near by. I heard rumors that they were Plumbers, but either way these alien crabs climbed into the ship. In fact, there weren't that many that boarded. Maybe a couple dozen or so."

"And the ship came to earth?" Ben whispered.

"Yeah." Argit answered. "And they basically just bred. However, they bred slowly, since where the ship docked was a desert. It was warm alright, but no food, water, shade, or privacy. It's a wonder why their queen hadn't died, or they hadn't cooked under the sun. Anyway, somehow they found their way to the city. The sewers were the first place they went. They had almost died out when they came to the city, though. When they came to the city, there were hardly a dozen left. And surprise, surprise, they still had their queen."

"You knew about this and you didn't tell anyone?!" Ben shouted.

Argit placed his feet back on the table and finished off his chili fries. "Hey, it wasn't any of my business, now was it?"

Ben gave a sour look.

"Any more 'questions'?" Argit said smugly.

Ben thought for a moment. "Do they have any weak spots?"

Argit had to think for a moment. "Well, when they're small, you could easily wipe them out, but when they breed and grow huge, it is pretty hard to kill them. Almost impossible."

"Rook killed one in one shot, just with his Proto-Gun." Ben snarled.

"Oh, THAT guy." Argit growled. "Well, you pat that 'Rook' guy on the shoulder for me. For all I know, their head, or where it should be, is its weak spot."

"How big do they get?"

"Pretty big. Like I said, they haven't had the chance to grow that big on their home planet, or what's left of it. For all you know, they could grow the size of a building." Argit answered, finished with his food.

"How do I kill them?" Ben asked, half to himself.

"You see, that's why I said to listen." Argit snapped. "I already told you about that and you weren't listening. You know what? I'm done. Give me my loot and leave me alone."

Ben stared at Argit for a long moment. Argit looked to see that Ben was still there. "Did you hear me? Give me my pie and BEAT IT. I swear, you are just as stupid as that Rook guy."

Ben grumbled to himself as he placed the pie in the slot and walked away. Argit was lucky he got the pie. If there wasn't a window in the way, he would've socked Argit right in the face. That rat wasn't good for anything by being sneaky. If he hadn't been in jail and Ben had free range of him at that moment …

Ben shook his head. He couldn't help being defensive about Rook. Rook wasn't stupid. If anything, he was the smartest person he ever met.

"Hey!" Argit cried, realizing that Ben left the whip cream on the table. He watched Ben leave the station, closing the door roughly behind him. Argit looked through the window at the whip cream. "Wonderful …"

* * *

_Alright. I know what everyone is thinking._

_"Why is this chapter so long?"_

_Well, I'll tell you why. I made this chapter long in honor of the contest winners that entered my contest for this fan fiction. The contest winners are jessica499499 (DeviantArt) and RandomDraggon (DeviantArt). I have taken their two wonderful ideas and mashed them together into one giant plot._

_This plot will continue onto the next chapter. I figured I made this chapter long enough, so I might as well just continue onto the next chapter._

_jessica499's : "My idea: Rook should come to Ben's house in the middle of the night to tell him about an important idea he had about a recent sting of alien attacks. They both think he's right and get excited about the idea. This leads to them getting really close together and one of them initiating their first kiss. This leads to making out, a little groping, and finally either one/both of Ben's parents walking in on them or they have sex. "_

_RandomDraggon : "nyuh NYUUUUH NYUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHh I DON'T KNOW! Uh...how about...uhm Ben and Rook go to investigate a ship (totally original plot ikr) to get a dangerous item out of it, and it's full of these really scary ass beast aliens that killed the people who were originally on the ship, and Ben and Rook have to hide in a really small tight somewhere together and awkward cute scary moments."_

_Be prepared for the next chapter! :D_

_Oh, and just so people know, when Rook P.O.V is talking about 'Nana' and 'Little Brother', it is from the upcoming fan fiction called 'Things Change'. It will be a sequel to this fan fiction. Sneak peak! ;)_

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS))_


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 –

When Ben pulled up into his parent's drive way, he saw that his mother was sitting on the porch chair, waiting for her son to arrive. Once she saw him parking in their drive way, she instantly smiled and ran to her son. Ben had just closed his car door when his mom wrapped her arms tightly around him.

"Choking … not breathing." Ben gasped.

His mom then let go of her son and kissed him on the cheek. Ben tried not to be so squeamish about it, but he couldn't help it. He was eighteen but was treated as if he were still a teenager. It was degrading, but Ben stuck it out.

"How is everything going? Have you met the land lord? Exactly how far away is it from here?" his mother questioned quickly.

Ben just chuckled. "Calm down, Mom! Can't you wait until I come inside?"

His mother gave a warm smile as she walked with Ben to the front door. Ben smiled back, but his mind was somewhere else. He couldn't help but wanting to be back with Rook. He had wanted to spend time with Rook after they discovered the colony of crabs, but Rook insisted that they look deeper into the matter. When Ben suggested they talk to Argit, Rook just scowled. He said he would research else where while Ben interrogated Argit. Ben had been looking forward to being with Rook after that, but he remembered he told his parents he would visit that day. He hadn't had time to be with Rook.

Ben mainly wanted to be with Rook so they could talk about what happened the previous night. Ben had wanted to make sure that the kiss was real, something to keep in his memories. Ben didn't want to forget, but the questions kept buzzing in his mind. Had the kiss been a mistake? Did Rook really like Ben back? The tension and giant crabs had ruined Ben's change to ask any of that.

Ben just shook his head, frustrated. Once inside the house, Ben looked around for his dad.

His mom seemed to read Ben's mind, smiling. "Your father is still at work. He should be back soon, though."

Ben nodded and sat on the couch. His mom seemed to be pleased at the fact that Ben still considered the house his second home. She had indeed missed her son.

Ben grinned as he placed his hands behind his head. "I think I'll just hang here until Dad comes back." Ben said aloud.

"That works. I'm going to be preparing dinner." his mother said as she walked off to the kitchen.

Ben didn't turn on the TV. He just sat down, relaxing. He hadn't noticed it before, but he was worn out. Sitting down for the first time all day felt good. He was sitting down for at least a few minutes when he noticed something new.

"Hey, Mom?" Ben called.

"Yeah?" she said aloud from the kitchen. "What is it?"

"Did you get new plants while I was gone?" Ben questioned.

There on the stand next to the TV was a small plant that had small and fuzzy leaves. The pot was small and painted with garden patterns. Ben's mom loved plants, but most of them were tropical or had flowers. The small plant just seemed out of place.

Ben's mom leaned into the living room to see which plant he was talking about. When she followed his gaze, she smiled. "Yes. That would be catnip. Personally, I think it is just a little out of place, but our neighbor gave it to us as a peace offering."

"Peace offering?" Ben asked.

His mom nodded. "Remember when the neighbor cut down the branch on our side of the fence? Your father was pretty mad at him. He felt bad since he didn't know your father liked the branch. So, the guy's wife gave us one of her catnip pots."

"Oh." Ben said as he studied the plant for a second time. "But why catnip?"

Ben's mom moved back into the kitchen. "I guess she likes to grow that kind of stuff since they have at least a dozen cats."

Just at the moment, the front door swung open. Ben's dad saw Ben and smiled warmly. "Oh, you're here!"

Ben nodded. "Yep. I'm here."

Ben's mom then moved from the kitchen to the living room, arms stretched out. Ben's dad gave her a bear hug. "Hello, Sandra."

"Nice to have you home, Carl."

Ben tried not to have a bored expression. However, he wasn't anything but bored when Ben went into the basement to help out clean his dad's tool supply. His mother had reluctantly said no to the idea, but Ben agreed that he needed to help out his dad. His mother crossed her arms at the idea, but she let the two have some father-son-time while she cooked dinner. Ben and his dad had shared some laughs and tales, just like they used to, when Ben's mother called them up for dinner.

Dinner had been pot roast, something that Ben had been craving. All he really ate while he was in his apartment was pops, chips, and TV dinners. When his mom asked about his diet, Ben had answered honestly, making his mom have a sour expression.

Later that dinner, his mom spoke up. "What have you been doing while you were gone?"

Ben smiled as he explained everything that had happened. However, he had left out the part where he and Rook kissed. He was sure his parents wouldn't be too happy about that. He had explained what happened when the crabs almost trampled him and Rook. He didn't put in too many details, trying not to worry his mother. She seemed alright.

However, Ben noticed how when he mentioned Rook, there was always unease. He knew that his parents didn't like Rook, but Ben did. Not only was he Ben's love interest, he was his partner for two years. Even if his parents didn't like Rook, Ben would always say how great he was. Rook didn't deserve to be thought of anything less than great.

* * *

When Ben got back to his apartment, it was about seven o'clock. Ben sighed, realizing that he most likely wouldn't be able to spend more time with Rook until the next day. Maybe then he would have the chance to talk to Rook about the kiss.

Ben just fell on his bed, completely tired. He had felt like he would pass out on the ride home, but he stuck it out until he got back to his apartment. Once he fell on the bed sheets, he didn't even bother to take off his shoes. He fell into another deep sleep.

* * *

For the first time in forever, Rook was frustrated enough that he swore under his breath. At first he had said swear words that only his kind said, but then he got to the point where he started using earth words. Rook was thankful that he was alone in his truck/ship. If any other Plumber (or other person for that matter) heard him using such words, his 'goodie-goodie' reputation would've been tarnished.

Rook was working with his equipment, trying to find whatever the alien-crabs were up to. Ben hadn't called him with any new information, so Rook had to figure things out himself, like usual.

Rook had been researching for anything that related to the alien-crabs, but he had gotten no where. He couldn't pin point where they came from, or what they even were. Rook had been so frustrated he felt like breaking something. It was to that point. Just when Rook felt like he was going to give up and break a fuse, he found something. Something useful. And it didn't come from any research. It came from the best place for information: his complex mind.

If the crabs needed some place to lay eggs that was warm and moist, then why live in the sewers? They were growing and breeding so rapidly, Rook couldn't help but wondering what the crabs would do to get a bigger nesting ground. Just like bees, whenever their home became too small for the colony, then they would move to someplace that was not only bigger, but had all the components needed for breeding and living. What other place was there that was like the sewers?

Rook thought for a long while and came up with a conclusion. There was no where left in the city for such living conditions, but there was always the forest. Who knew what things there were in there? Perhaps they were burrowing underground for their nesting ground. Then again, they didn't seem like the burrowing type. What else would be a nice nesting area? This was hard, even for Rook.

Rook then sparked an idea. He went to his searching equipment as he searched for heat signatures in the forest area. It took about an hour for the gear to warm up, so when it finally did, it was around eight o'clock. He grinned once his equipment was fully warmed up. He pressed some buttons on his gadget until he got what he wanted. The satellite that was orbiting around the earth opened its system to Rook. Rook looked around, as if expecting someone to come crashing into his truck. He had locked the doors, but he couldn't help feeling uneasy. It was against the law to do such a thing. He couldn't open one of the satellite systems without special permission from a higher status of Plumbers. That wouldn't even be Max Tennyson. It was someone with even more authority.

Rook gulped. He couldn't help but thinking of what happened to people who disobeyed this law. Normally, they would be stripped of their badge, but if the superior was soft enough, they would suspend them for a long period of time. Rook had been known to always stick to the rules and stick to orders, but this case had made him almost go insane. He told Max that he would figure it out. So that was what he was going to do.

Rook then typed in a code, activating the satellite. Once he was plugged in, he set the scanner to search for heat signatures of the Bellwood area. He specially looked at the forest area. He couldn't help but grinning. Finally.

* * *

Ben tossed and turned in bed. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fall back asleep. For some odd reason, he had woken up in the middle of the night, feeling uneasy. He wasn't sure what it was, but he could've sworn he felt a presence. He tossed and turned for at least five minutes before he heard someone, or something, clearing their throat.

In pure instinct, Ben rolled off the side of his bed and sat up, reaching for his omnitrix. He looked up for a slip second, and then lowered his arm.

"Rook? What the hell are you doing here?" Ben hissed.

Rook smiled apologetically. "I found important information on the crabs. I couldn't wait to tell you, figuring now would be the best time to –"

"Rook," Ben growled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "It's …"

Ben took a glance at his clock. Rook looked, too. He was frowning. "Ben, it is only five in the morning."

Oh, maybe it wasn't the middle of the night.

Ben shook his head. "Rook, go home. I'm tired. Even if you wake up at the crack of dawn doesn't mean I do."

"But –" Rook began, but was soon interrupted.

"GO. Unlike you, I sleep until I'm almost late to work." Ben snarled as he stood up. He thought for a moment, blushing. "Rook, were you watching me sleep?"

Rook was taken aback for a moment, but then crossed his arms. "I've only been here for five minutes. You were squirming around so much I thought you were awake."

"Well, sadly, I was." Ben spat.

"Ben, I'm serious about –" Rook said more quickly, but Ben interrupted him either way.

"Did you not hear me? I said GO. Get out. Scram. Beat it." Ben said forcefully without thinking.

Rook looked hurt, but straightened himself back out. "Fine. I figured I would have to do this myself, anyway."

As Rook climbed back out the window, Ben felt suddenly bitten by remorse. Had he been too harsh? Ben shook his head and sat back down on his bed.

"Whatever." he muttered to himself.

* * *

Well, that was just fine with Rook. He had figured that visiting Ben early in the morning wouldn't get Rook anywhere. He had wanted to take Ben with him to the site because they were partners, Ben should've cared about the crabs, and in the event of danger, Rook would need Ben for back up.

Sure, Rook could've waited until the next day to investigate the crabs, but Rook was determined. Max had trusted Rook with the mission to figure out the alien-crab attacks and find the link between them and the sewers. Rook had found so much more, and if Ben wasn't going to help him, so be it. He would deal some small little crabs. Couldn't he?

* * *

Ben woke up in the morning in a daze. As he got himself ready for work, he couldn't help thinking of Rook. Ben's partner had a stone heart, but he was too … ambitious. Was Rook mad? Ben admitted to himself that he had been too harsh with Rook, but Rook was a man and could handle it like one. The only question that kept buzzing in his mind was: had Rook gone alone?

Ben mentally kicked himself. He was so stupid! Why hadn't he listened to Rook in the first place? Even if Rook did leave, then at least Ben would know what his plan was. Ben tried to keep himself calm. Rook was a tough dude. He could handle himself.

'What am I worried about?' Ben asked himself, mentally. 'Rook is probably back at HQ.'

Ben didn't know how wrong he was.

Once Ben had driven to HQ, entered the base, and check in, he couldn't find one trace of Rook. Now Ben was worried. Rook was never late to work. In fact, he was always early. Never late. Something was definitely wrong.

While Ben was deep in his thoughts and worries, Grandpa Max approached him. "Ben, have you seen Rook? I haven't seen him all morning and he hasn't checked in."

Ben looked at Grandpa Max, worried. "I haven't seen him either, Grandpa."

"When was the last time you saw him?" Max asked Ben.

"Yesterday." Ben lied.

"Perhaps he will show up later." Grandpa said, but he said it more as a question than a statement.

Ben tried to convince himself the same thing. However, as the day passed with no sign of the violet alien, Ben became especially worried. Once it was time for Ben to check out, he instantly ran to his car, intending to go to Rook's apartment. Once he had finally made it to the building, Ben had to figure out which apartment was Rook's.

Finding the right apartment had taken longer than Ben expected, but he finally got the information needed from a giant book of apartment residents. Ironically, Rook's apartment was the only one that was checked out on the bottom floor. In fact, all Ben had to do was go down a couple hallways and he would be by Rook's apartment. As Ben approached the door, he couldn't help but wondering what would he do if Rook wasn't there.

Ben knocked on the door. "Rook? Rook, you there?"

Ben knocked again, this time more fiercely. "ROOK?"

Thinking quickly, Ben slipped his omnitrix and turned into Big Chill. He then easily gliding through the front door. Ben felt a little bit like a violator, but he couldn't help it. He NEEDED to know that Rook was okay. That he was safe. However, when Ben entered the apartment, all he saw were boxes, boxes, and more boxes. No Rook.

Ben stayed in the form of Big Chill as he searched around a little. "ROOK? ROOK?"

There was no response, again.

As Ben peaked into every room, he had to admit that Rook wasn't in his apartment. He sighed as he floated back through the front door. Where was Rook?

Ben changed back into his human form as he leaned up against Rook's door. Something was wrong. Really wrong. It was one thing for Rook not to show up to work, but it was another if he was no where to be found. Ben had only one possibility left. There was always the possibility that Rook was in his truck/ship.

Ben ran out into the apartment parking lot. He reached his car when he saw something in the corner of his eye. He didn't want to look at first. He didn't want to believe it was true, but he was greatly disappointed to see that Rook's truck was parked in the parking lot. Ben held onto his last shred of hope as he ran towards it.

Ben pounded his fists against the back of the truck. He then ran to the back of the truck trailer and did the same. He suddenly felt hot tears running down his face. Why was he crying? Ben knew why. Rook wasn't here. He was gone. There was no other place Ben knew where Rook could be. Ben hit his head on the truck doors, bowing his head to silently sob. Suddenly, one of doors opened, revealing that it was unlocked.

Ben took in a deep breath before entering. Empty.

Ben pressed his back against the side of the truck trailer. He slid down to the ground, burrowing his face in his knees. His last shred of hope disappeared and was replaced by stabbing fear and hot tears.

* * *

_Okay. Just so people know, I didn't put that part about the catnip in there just for some random reason. I can't say anything that will give it away, but just think about it. Who in this story is cat-like? Catnip to cats are like drugs ...? Oh, this is going to be fun and funny. But mostly funny._

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS)) _


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 –

It was cold. Really cold.

The ground was wet, making the freezing situation even worse than it already was. Although the young male wanted to pick himself off the ground (or whatever he was lying in), he couldn't bring himself to do it, as if he was frozen to the ground.

He had been lying in a complete daze for a few minutes, but then a sudden wave of pain swept over him. His head swam, as if his brain was swishing around inside his skull. His limbs felt as if they were regaining feeling, but that came with a cost, making his limbs feel as if they were being stretched. However, the worst pain was in one of his thighs. He at first couldn't figure out what the pain was, but he soon realized that the tissue had been ripped; mixing thick, red blood with the liquid the Revonnahgander was lying in.

What had happened?

He wasn't sure, but he knew that his sudden loss in current memory had something to do with the back of his head. He hadn't noticed it before, since his pain was so concentrated on just his thigh, but once he had gained enough strength to lift one of his arms, he had felt the back of his head. He retracted his arm suddenly, feeling the pain come all over again. Although he wasn't bleeding, he knew that the back of his head had been hit fairly well.

His arm fell back to the floor once he felt his limbs becoming heavy all over again. All he could do was watch his vision go blurry as he fell into another uneasy sleep. He didn't know where he was, why he was there, or what had happened, but either way, there was nothing he could do about it.

* * *

There had to be hope. There just had to be.

What would Ben do without hope of finding Rook? There had to be hope to keep him moving. For Rook.

The last place Ben thought of was the undertown. If Rook wasn't there, then he would need help. As Ben searched the undertown, he felt hollow inside to know that Rook was no where to be seen. Ben had tried tracking Rook's Plumber badge, but he got no signal. His badge was no where in the galaxy, so that could only mean that Rook's Plumber badge had somehow been destroyed.

Once Ben realized that Rook wasn't anywhere in the undertown, he turned to the next best thing. Although it was almost winter, Ben wore a light t-shirt and light pants. He would need to dress light to go further underground. Sure enough, as he traveled further down, the temperature rose. His skin felt heated, as if it were being burned. Once Ben passed the gate leading to Kraaho territory, Ben was greeted like usual.

Kraaho soldiers would threaten him with spears, but once they realized who Ben was, they lowered them and lead Ben to their queen, Ester. Ben had always enjoyed being with Ester, but when he first met her, he was always annoyed by the fact that no matter what the circumstances were, Ester would flirt to no end. Ben hadn't minded at first, since he used to have a small crush on her, but he then lost interest in being an 'item' with her. He knew they were bound to be friends, but Ester would flirt nevertheless. Ben had been annoyed at this for a while, but he then got used to it to the point he just didn't notice.

Ben hardly ever was with Ester and Rook at the same time, but he knew that for some odd reason, Rook would always seem irritated whenever Ester openly flirted with Ben. Ben hadn't seen why this was before, but now he knew why. Was Rook really jealous?

Ben shook away the thought as he approached the thrown. Ester had been talking to one of her subjects when she saw Ben approaching. She instantly smiled. "Ben!"

Ben wasn't prepared for what happened next. Just as he was smiling and about to say something, Ester flung herself at Ben, wrapping her arms over his shoulders and hugging him tightly. Ben breathed tightly, having the air sucked out of him.

Ester finally let Ben go, allowing him to breathe. Ben just smiled back weakly. "Hey, Ester."

Ester smiled, but then studied Ben's face. He was fake smiling. His eyes shifted left and right and he seemed as if his mind was some place else. Ester crossed her arms. "So, what's up?"

Ben sighed, realizing he wasn't fooling anyone. "Ester, I need your help."

"Help?" Ester asked, puzzled.

Ben nodded. "Yeah. It's … it's about Rook."

Ester then instantly looked bored. She looked off into the distance. "What about him? Is he being boring as usual?"

"No." Ben whispered. "He's missing."

His words seemed to stick in his throat, as if he would break down crying at any moment, but Ben willed himself to stay strong in front of Ester. She may have been his friend, but she was also the queen of the Kraaho. He needed to try to be strong. For Rook.

Ester looked back at Ben, looking more amused than worried. "Missing? How? I thought you could just track him with your … Plumber … thingy."

Ben pulled his Plumber badge out of his pocket. He shifted it around in his hand before putting it back. "I already tried that. Something must have happened to his badge. I can't get a signal."

"Maybe he's just out of range?" Ester said, not really caring.

"The Plumber badges have range of the entire universe. I don't think he would be able to leave this one to another, but even if he could, he wouldn't get very far without his ship." Ben pointed out.

Ester sighed. "Well, what do you want me to do about it?"

Ben seemed hurt. Was Ester really not caring? Rook was missing! What if something terrible had happened to him? Ben couldn't bare the thought.

Ester saw Ben's expression, and then softened. "I'm sorry, Ben. I didn't mean it like that. I'll be more than happy to help you. Just saw the word. Whatever it is, I'll help."

Ben grinned slightly. "Thanks, Ester."

Ester returned the response with a wink.

* * *

The memories returned as hard as the pain came. Rook grounded his teeth, trying to ride out the nerve-racking pain. At first, the physical pain came first, making Rook parlayed with pain. He had been shot with a bullet once, giving the same affected. Somehow, the pain was so overwhelming, Rook felt as if shots of pure pain jolted through his body. All he could do was lie in the water, shaking at every convolution. Rook thought he felt hot tears rolling down his cheeks, but he wouldn't be able to tell.

Just like a hurricane, there was the storm's eye. The first wave would come through, and then the storm's eye would appear, letting the storm die down before the last wave came. Rook was relieved for a moment when his storm's eye came. He breathed deeply and fast, needing to take a breath. When the first wave of pain came, he felt as if he would die from suffocation. While he did so, he started to remember what had happened.

He had been near a wreaked ship, thinking that this was where the heat signature lied. Sadly, he was right. Unlike before, the crabs were no longer large. They were HUGE. Before, they had been the size of buffalos, but now they seemed to be the size of elephants. They sure did act like them, too. They knocked over any tree in their path and often fought with each other. However, when they set off in large groups looking for food, they seemed to work as one giant mind.

Rook had found this fascinating. That is until one of the crabs found him. Just like ants, the crabs saw Rook as an invader to their colony. Rook had then used his Proto-Tech gun, but had proven useless against the beastly creatures. Anything Rook shot would instantly reflect off their shells. And even thought Rook was wearing Proto-Tech armor, it was no protection against their giant claws.

Now it all made sense. Rook's thigh had been ripped open when one of the creatures had managed to get one of their claws on Rook's leg. The pain had been unbearable. However, the pain hadn't come until later, when Rook woke up from a deep sleep. When he had been fighting, his leg was just limp as Rook tried to drag the dead weight.

Rook couldn't remember how, but he managed to get away from the attacking crabs. However, he had accidentally tripped into a creek. Swimming had become impossible. Even if Rook's leg hadn't been wounded, he wouldn't have been able to swim to the shore. The current had been too strong and thick. All Rook could do was stay above the surface as he was soon thrown into rapids. Rook thought he would drown, but something else happened. On one of the rapids, Rook had hit the back of his head on a rock with bone crushing force. Somehow, he was propelled from the rapids onto the rocky shore.

It was then that Rook lost all conciseness. When he had woken up, he was freezing to the core in a pool of water and blood. Although Rook hadn't been able to figure things out for a while, all he knew was that if he didn't do something to get warm or stop bleeding, he could soon die.

It was then that the last wave came. Rook wanted to cry out in pain and agony, but he couldn't make anything come out of his mouth. He had wanted to cry, but he had no tears left. Although the wave of pain had only lasted for a few minutes, it had felt like forever. Once the pain left his body, Rook was gasping for air. He felt as if his chest was on fire. Rook guessed he must have damaged his rip cage somehow. However, Rook was glad nevertheless that now he could flinch without feeling sudden pain.

However, his entire body had been sore. He felt as if he had been battered back and forth between rocks. Oh wait, he had been. Not only that, but he also felt light headed. True, he had been hit on the back of the head pretty hard, but there was something more than that. Rook then realized that he felt so light headed because of the fact he had lost so much blood. It took most of his strength, but Rook had managed to sit up. He then felt pain in his thigh. Rook's vision went from blurry to normal as he stared blankly at his leg. Most of it was dry blood, but Rook could see that he was still bleeding.

Carefully, Rook placed both hands on his open wound. Blood flowed through his tight fingers. He was tempted to pull back from the sudden pain, but Rook kept his hands placed on the wound, pressing it down to stop the bleeding. Alright, the bleeding situation was under control, but Rook couldn't think of any solution to stop his freezing. Perhaps he could drag himself out of the small pool of water and blood to some place dry. The entire bank was water and rocks, but Rook could see forest ground not too far away.

He stayed pressing against his wound for a while longer before pulling his hands away so he could drag across the rocky terrain. It was much harder than he had thought. His wounded leg was nothing but dead weight, pulling him back. Rook had tried using his good leg, but he had no strength to do so. Rook would drag himself about a foot before he stopped for a few minutes to catch his breath.

After about half an hour, Rook was successful in dragging himself to forest ground. The dead grass wasn't very pleasant, but at least he was out of the water and rocks. Once Rook was on grass, he instantly fell back to the ground, panting heavily.

He didn't know what to do next.

* * *

Ester and Ben had spent the whole day checking every nook and cranny of Bellwood's city. There wasn't a single trace of Rook. Ben thought he was going to slowly die from the inside out. He still felt like breaking down crying, but he tried to stay strong in front of Ester. She must have sensed Ben's unease as she placed her hand in his, twining their fingers together.

Ester hadn't done the motion to be flirty, but merely to comfort Ben. Ben hadn't even bothered to pull his hand free. Truth was, he needed the comfort. Once Ben and Ester had searched and searched, Ben had to finally bid Ester good bye.

He pulled his hand free of hers and looked at her with wet eyes. "Thanks."

Ester looked at him with worried eyes. "Anytime, Ben."

Before Ester went into the undertown, she gave Ben one last glance. She waved good bye before she disappeared into the tunnel. Ben felt empty and expressionless as he climbed into his car. He intended to drive back to his apartment, but he ended up driving up the long and twisted hill to the top view of the city. Once Ben got to the clearing, he got out of his car and sat at the edge, looking down at the lights of the city.

Last time Ben had been here at sundown was with Rook. Not only had Ben seen the wonders of the city lights, he had shared a kiss with Rook. Ben had never gotten the chance to talk to Rook about that kiss. The moment felt so real, like he was soaring about the clouds. Now, Ben felt as if the world he knew was crashing down. Rook was gone. Possibly forever. All Ben wished for was that they could share one last kiss.

It was then that Ben broke into tears. All the feelings of agony and fear had finally come out. Ben had sat on the grassy ground, sobbing, for what seemed like forever. After a while of releasing tears, Ben wiped his arm across his wet face. Where could Rook be? Was he … alright?

Ben knew that asking questions was torture, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't help wondering about where his partner could be. What had happened? Where had he gone? Why had Ben been such an idiot to ignore Rook? Ben continued to so sob. Was it … his fault that Rook was gone?

* * *

Ben had returned late at night. When he entered the apartment building, he took the stairs to the top level. His feet felt as heavy as lead. His red eyes had no more tears to cry. All Ben wanted to do was flop onto his bed and sleep forever.

When Ben walked up to his apartment, he saw something by the door. Ben bent over and looked at the object. In the dark, he could hardly make out what it was. After looking at it closely, Ben found out that it was a plant. He sniffed it, and realized it was catnip. Catnip from his mother.

Ben picked up the pot, but seemed to look through it. He opened his door and walked inside his apartment. He closed the door behind him. Ben just simply sat the catnip pot on his coffee table. He closed the curtains to the window before he flopped onto his bed. He removed his shoes, but didn't bother with anything else. He just lied in bed, trying to escape into sleep.

* * *

Morning light streamed through the dense forest trees as the Revonnahgander began to shift around, awakening to the next day.

With a heavy yawn, Rook squinting his eyes to the bright, morning light. He at first didn't know what he was doing lying on the ground in a forest, but he then remembered everything. He remembered the pain and the suffering that had happened the previous day. However, during the night, he was able to rest and heal.

Half of Rook's face was pressed in long, dead grass. Rook's vision consisted of grass and sunlight. Not the best things in the world at the moment.

Rook twitched his fingers, making sure he still had feeling. After becoming aware of his surroundings, Rook gathered his strength to lift himself up. Yes, he indeed did have much more strength than he had the day before. That was good news. Rook smiled, but winced at the sudden hunger that arose in his stomach. He had been grounded for two whole days, making him extremely hungry.

Rook decided that perhaps it was time to walk. Rook moved his good leg, making sure it was still okay, and then scooted towards the back of a tree. He tried his hardest for a few minutes, and then finally got results. He had placed his hands on the tree, trying to push himself up so he could prop himself up with his good leg. It had taken a while, but he finally was standing up, his back pressed against a tree.

Rook chuckled. He wouldn't go down that easily. Rook sighed, realizing that he would have to hobble across half the forest just to get to the city. Maybe there he could call for help, but Rook would do anything to get back.

All Rook had thought about that night was how he was going to go straight to Ben. He was going to wrap his arms around Ben and tell him that he was alright. He would tell Ben how much he had missed him. Rook needed to get back. He just had to.

* * *

By the second day of Rook's disappearance, everyone knew that Rook was really in trouble. Max had gathered a small search team that would search all over Bellwood and the forest. A missing Plumber was something serious.

When Ben had come to HQ that day, Max was astonished.

Ben had been wearing a hoodie, coving his face. When he came to Max with news of how he found no trace of Rook, Max made Ben take off his hood. Ben had relented at first, but he gave in. Max was more than surprised to see that Ben's eyes were red and puffy from crying. A lot.

Max had known hat Ben and Rook were close as partners, but he never knew that Ben would be so overwhelmed over his lost partner. Then again, Max never did get to realize how close the two boys were. All Max could do was comfort Ben, patting his on the shoulder and telling him that Rook was alright. Rook was tough and could take care of himself. Max was mostly trying to convince himself.

It was later that morning that Ben joined the search team. Ben helped search more of Bellwood while the other half of the team searched the forest. Ben had searched high and low as Stinkfly, looking for his partner.

After a long while of searching, Ben returned to the ground just as the omnitrix timed out. He had been looking for Rook for hours. Ben pounded his fist against a wall as hot tears ran down his face.

"Rook …" Ben muttered, feeling the words stick in his throat.

Just as he felt like he was going to go into another sob, his Plumber badge vibrated. Ben pulled it out of his pocket and cleared his throat. "Hello?"

"Ben, we found him." someone said.

That was all Ben needed to hear. He quickly turned into XLR8. Dashing through the city at light speed, Ben thought that the tears he had cried were now tears of joy. They had found him. Everything was okay. Well, that part wasn't so much true.

* * *

"Where is he?" Ben demanded as he walked through the hospital doors.

Grandpa Max was there, too, sitting in one of the waiting chairs. He looked up at Ben and sighed. "The doctor hasn't given us any news, yet."

"I just asked where he was." Ben said sternly.

Grandpa Max patted the seat next to him, motioning for Ben to sit. He didn't. Max leaned back in his chair. "Ben, Rook just got here. It will take a while for the doctor to check him out. Besides, there are only a few doctors here that study alien medicines. You'll just have to wait."

Ben looked like he wanted to snap, saying something rude, but he held his tongue, taking a seat next to his grandpa without saying a word. Max just nodded, thanking his grandson's good choice.

* * *

Hours had passed. Each second that passed Ben became more worried and more impatient. He tried his best to stay still, but he couldn't help from fidgeting. What had happened to Rook? Was he alright?

Ben must have fallen asleep, because when he woke up, there was a young nurse with a clipboard smiling down at him. Ben stretched and yawned. He looked around the waiting room to see that he was the only one left. Grandpa Max and the other Plumbers that were waiting around had left. Impatient cowards.

The nurse smiled warmly at Ben. "Mr. Tennyson? Are you waiting to see Rook?"

"Yes." Ben said quickly, standing up.

The nurse looked down at her clipboard. "Patient 'Blonko' is ready to see you."

Ben smiled as he followed the nurse down a white hall. He felt excited to see Rook, but at the same time he felt frightened. What would Rook look like? No one had told him before what Rook looked like when they found him. Ben couldn't even begin to imagine what Rook had gone through.

As they walked down the hall, the nurse squinted at something on her clipboard. "Just be warned, Mr. Tennyson. We … we did the best we could."

Ben felt as if he were going to faint. "What … what do you mean?"

"Although we have doctors that specialize in this, not every one can predict what his abilities are. We aren't sure how well he heals compared to humans. When he was brought in, he had a mild concussion, a couple broken ribs, and some cartilage was ripped in his thigh. We tried asking him about what happened. He didn't respond to anything we said. So, we aren't sure if his experience affected his vocal cords or not. I don't see why it would, though. A more logical explanation is that the shock has gotten to him. Perhaps you can figure that part out yourself." the nurse explained.

Ben paled. He felt like he was going to be sick.

The nurse walked past some doors before opening one. She opened in slowly, looking inside to make sure that Rook wasn't sleeping. Rook was lying in one of the patient beds, staring off into space.

The nurse grinned as she stuck her head in. "Rook, you have a visitor."

Rook didn't respond. He just continued to stare into nothing.

The nurse sighed as she let Ben step inside. Ben had wide, soulful eyes. He turned to the nurse. She nodded and closed the door, leaving Ben and Rook alone.

Ben took in a deep breath as he walked towards the bed. "R-Rook?"

At the sound of Ben's voice, Rook snapped out of the trance and looked towards Ben. A wide grin swept across his face. Ben's heart seemed to melt as he instantly ran up to the bed. He got down on his knees beside the bed, coming to his friend's aid. Ben thought he felt tears coming, but he held them back.

Rook and Ben's heads were right next to each other. Rook turned his so he could look into Ben's face. "Hello."

"Hello?" Ben said aloud. "HELLO? You've been missing for over two days, you're in a hospital, and where the hell have you been?!"

Rook was expressionless. "I was in the forest."

"Well, I know that much." Ben said, softening up.

Rook sighed. He explained everything that had happened while he was in the forest.

Ben was wide eyed. "What? What happened to your Plumbers badge?"

Rook was hesitant at first, but he answered honestly. "I dropped it while running away and one of the crabs ate it."

"It ate your badge?"

Rook nodded. "Sadly, yes."

Ben then looked Rook over. He was wearing sweat pants and socks. No shirt. Ben slightly blushed at the sight of Rook's bare chest. Across one of his breasts were stitches, showing where they had fixed some ribs. Rook was wearing sweat pants, so Ben couldn't see the torn thigh, but party of him didn't want to. He never wanted to imagine something so horrible happening to his Rook.

HIS … Rook?

Yes. His Rook. Ben needed Rook to stay with him. Rook couldn't ever leave like this. Ben wouldn't let him.

"Rook?" Ben said.

"Yes?"

"Promise me you'll never leave me." Ben whispered.

Rook looked lovingly at Ben. "I have been on earth for two years, Ben. I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise me." Ben whispered as he leaned his head on the bed, laying his head next to Rook's. He stared into Rook's eyes, waiting for the promise.

"I promise." Rook whispered back.

Ben closed his heavy eyes, happy with Rook's promise. Rook just grinned as he closed his eyes, too. He then felt Ben's soft hand intertwine with Rook's. From the surgery and whole event, Rook felt sleep approaching him slowly. Before he fell into another light sleep, he heard the silent snoring of Ben Tennyson next to him.

* * *

_The next chapter is going to contain the catnip action. YAYS!_

_Ha ha, I should really get started on the net chapter for Adventure Time with Marshall Lee. I just couldn't help myself from posting another chapter of this first._

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS))_


	10. Chapter 9

**WARNING: This chapter contains strong language.**

Chapter 9 –

The next day brought chills. Over the night, the first snow fall of the year had come. Ben had been excited, and not just because of the snow, but because Max had told Ben that Rook would be able to check out of the hospital sometime in the afternoon.

After getting ready for the day, Ben drove over to the hospital. He had agreed to give Rook a ride back to his apartment. Ben couldn't help being excited. True, Rook was most likely weak and wanted to just relax, but Ben couldn't wait to be back with Rook. Not only that, but Ben had also brought a gift.

All night, while Ben was in his apartment, there were cats clawing at his door, wanting the catnip that his mother gave Ben. They must have smelt it in front of his door (where his mother left it) and wanted to get some from inside. That wasn't going to happen. Ben wasn't exactly a cat person. Unless it was Rook.

Once Ben parked in the hospital parking lot, he entered the building. He told the lady at the front desk that he was here to check out Rook. She just gave him a glance before she led him towards the room Rook was in. Ben turned to thank her, but she was already walking back in the direction of her desk.

Ben opened the door, peeping inside. "Rook?"

"Ben?" Rook responded.

Ben smiled and walked into the room, closing the door tightly behind him. Rook was sitting closed legged on the hospital bed. The white sheets were all ruffled, like they had been shoved aside. Rook had been trying to read a book, but by the looks of it, he was completely bored. Once he saw Ben, he threw aside the book, smiling.

Rook was still wearing the grey sweat pants, and still no shirt. Rook must have noticed Ben blushing, because he then grabbed a dark grey shirt that was hanging from the bed's edge. He slipped it over his head and straightened it out, trying to look presentable.

When Ben saw Rook trying to fix an already straight shirt, he chuckled. "You nerd."

Rook looked at Ben warmly, smiling. "I am not sure how to respond to that."

Ben walked over to Rook, slightly blushing. He hadn't been able to really talk to Rook while he was at the hospital the other day, so he sat on the edge of the hospital bed, intending to talk about past events.

Before he could, Rook spoke up. "I guess I can't check out until ten. I should've told you. Now we're stuck here for another half hour."

Ben grinned. That was actually perfect. It gave him enough time to sort things out. "That's fine."

"Really?" Rook asked, puzzled by Ben's motives.

Ben nodded. "I wanted to talk and stuff anyway."

"Alright." Rook said, getting in a more comfortable sitting position. "What would you like to talk about?"

"Like …" Ben started, trying to figure something out. "Why did you go alone?"

Rook stared blankly.

Ben looked down. "Was it my fault …?"

Rook tilted his head at the question, but then looked away, making hot tears come from Ben's eyes. When Rook saw his friend's sudden sadness, Rook leaned over at pulled Ben onto his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around Ben.

Ben sniffled a sob, trying not to get too overwhelmed. Truth was, he had truly believed that it was his fault that Rook left on his own. If he hadn't been such an arrogant idiot then he could've stopped Rook from going on his own. Yet, he felt as if Rook had forgiven Ben for his wrong doings as he held Ben tightly, letting Ben sit on Rook's lap and burry his face in Rook's shirt.

Ben's legs lied to the side, sitting sideways on Rook's lap. As he pressed against Rook's chest, he was comforted by Rook's strong arms and soft breathing. He sat in the center of Rook's lap, avoiding his wounded leg.

Ben smelt that same scent of Rook from the blanket he got from him. Every night he had slept with that blanket, even the night that Ben thought Rook was lost forever. Ben had been convinced that the blanket was the last of Rook, but he had been wrong. Now that Rook was back, the scent washed over him once more. Nothing was more valuable to Ben than Rook.

Rook ruffled Ben's hair and pressed his forehead on top of Ben's. "No." he answered. "It was not your fault. It was my choice."

"But … but you wouldn't have gone if I hadn't … if I hadn't been so mean and stupid …"

Rook just chuckled, making Ben confused. "Ben, I was equally as stupid to leave on my own. I thought that was what you said about friends. Being stupid together."

Ben chuckled weakly, not completely convinced.

Rook understood. "If it makes you feel better, I forgive you for your ignorance, Ben. That is, if you can forgive me for leaving you."

Ben no longer felt sad. He felt joy. He was in Rook's arms and Rook forgave Ben. Ben smiled warmly at Rook and sat up, eye level to Rook. "Sure, Rook, I forgive you."

As Ben still sat on Rook's lap, he wrapped his arms behind Rook's head and pulled Rook into a tight hug. Rook then wrapped his arms behind Ben's back, embracing him. He had indeed missed his partner. He somehow wanted to hang onto Ben forever, never letting him go.

Ben thought for a moment, blushing, but he knew then was the right moment. He slightly pulled away from the embrace. For a slip second he stared into Rook's golden eyes. In one quick movement, Ben mashed his lips against Rook's. Ben had somewhat expected Rook to pull away, but he didn't seem too surprised. Rook still kept his arms behind Ben's back and Ben's wrapped behind Rook's neck. Ben shifted around so he was sitting in Rook's lap, facing Rook, Ben's legs wrapped around behind him. After first, Ben thought he would hurt Rook's bad leg, but he didn't seem to mind as he kissed Ben back.

Both their lips parted, letting each other go into unexplored territory. At first, they just teased each other by flicking their tongues on each other's bottom lip, but then after a few seconds of doing so, Rook mashed his forked tongue with Ben's. Ben tingled with excitement. Never before had he seen this frisky side of Rook.

Ben repositioned himself so instead of sitting in the middle of Rook's lap, he lifted himself onto Rook's waist, making Ben even more excited with the sudden pleasure. Suddenly, Rook grunted, pulled away from their kiss, and moved his hands to place them on Ben's chest. Rook pushed Ben off him, trying to be as gentle as possible.

Ben tried not to look hurt by the motion. Had he gone too far? Ben didn't mean to rush things. Ben looked at Rook, like he was about to apologize, but he then saw what he did wrong. Rook wasn't looking at Ben, but at his bad leg. He rubbed the pained spot between his thigh and hip. Ben must have pressed against Rook's sore spot when he hoisted himself onto Rook's waist.

Ben swallowed, and not just because of the extra saliva in his mouth. "Sorry Rook, I wasn't paying attention."

Rook blushed, making Ben blush, too. "It is alright, Ben. I wasn't paying attention, either."

Ben could hear his heart pounding in his chest from the excitement he had felt. He wished that the moment had lasted longer, but his wrong move had ended it. Ben swallowed, again, still tasting Rook's tongue on his own.

To let Rook relax, Ben lied on the bed, letting Rook explain what he had wanted to say the night he left. Rook grinned at the idea and lied on the bed, too. They both lied on their side, looking at each other and talking. As Rook explained to Ben how the crabs were growing to a larger size everyday, they both somehow ended up scooting closer to each other. Their foreheads touched each as they gazed into each other's eyes.

After a little while, Rook sat back up on the bed to demonstrate to Ben how big their heads were. Ben sat up, too, watching Rook's hands. By the sound of it, the crabs had huge bodies and tiny heads. Figures.

At some point, both had become bored talking about the crabs. Either way, Rook would have to report this to Max, so he needed to save all the information for later. Rook must have missed the kiss just as much as Ben, because they both ended up in another kiss. This time, instead of Ben sitting in Rook's lap, Ben just snuggled up to Rook, wrapping his arms around him.

After about a minute of doing so, there was a click at the door. Before Ben could react, he was shoved roughly off the bed and onto the floor. Upside down and in a daze, Ben saw the door swing open with a nurse and Grandpa Max. They both looked at Ben, puzzled. Rook was sitting on the bed, looking innocent as usual.

Grandpa Max cleared his throat. "Ben, why are you on the ground?"

Ben looked at his upside down grandpa. "I … don't know." he answered honestly.

The nurse sighed, bored. "Well, Rook is ready for check out. You three meet me down at the desk when you're ready."

"Thank you." Max said before she slipped out of the room.

Grandpa Max looked at his grandson, still confused. As if reading Ben's blank expression, Grandpa Max sighed. "I don't want to know anymore. I'm going down to the desk. Ben, you should pick yourself up and help Rook get his things together. I'll meet you boys down by the desk."

"Thank you, sir." Rook said.

"Anytime, Plumber." Grandpa Max said cheerful. Rook had heard about how Max and the others thought of Rook. He was brave in his search for answers, but also stupid in the eyes of some.

Once Max walked out of the room and closed the door behind him, Ben sat up and looked over the bed's edge. "What the hell was that for, Rook?"

Rook smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I could not think of anything else to do."

Ben stood up, a little dizzy. Then, Ben realized that Rook had just saved both their butts. He raised an eyebrow to Rook. "I want to thank you, but I'm not sure if I would want to let you think its 'okay' to shove people off beds. Or anything for that matter."

Rook chuckled. "Ben, we both know that I have done much more than shove people off things."

"Both good and bad." Ben muttered. He then became irritated at the fact that the nurse and Grandpa Max had interrupted their making o- … 'kissing'. Ben opened his mouth to say something, but he quickly shut it. He had wanted to ask Rook if he wanted to kiss again, but he thought better of it. Besides, they had to get down to the front desk to check out.

Rook was already trying to get off the bed. He looked like he was having a difficult time, but he also looked determined. Rook had managed to swing both his legs off the bed, but the greatest challenge was standing up. Ben had rushed over to Rook's side, but the determined Rook just waved Ben away. Rook was staring down at his feet, trying to move them right.

Ben was horrified. He hadn't known. He thought that all that was wrong with Rook's leg was the wound on his thigh, but he was wrong. Rook's bad leg seemed as if it were numb or had completely lost all feeling.

As if reading Ben thoughts, Rook sighed. "The doctor said that the cut had hit an artery."

"But is it really that bad?" Ben whispered.

Rook looked like he hadn't wanted to say anything, but he knew that Ben wanted to know. "I had lost a lot of blood. My nerves were some how damaged since I was out there for a long time."

"Rook …" Ben whispered. "I … I didn't know. You should have told me. Then I wouldn't have …"

Rook grinned warmly. "It is alright, Ben. It does not hurt."

"That is a lie, Rook." Ben said, this time louder, crossing his arms.

Rook looked down with a sad expression. He sighed. "I am numb, Ben. I can't feel a thing, unless it is where my stitches are. My leg should regain all feeling in a few days, though."

"Rook," Ben said moving to the bed side. "If something I do can hurt you, you need to tell me. Okay?"

Ben knew he sounded like he was Rook's mother, but Rook didn't seem to mind. He just smiled at Ben and nodded. "Alright."

Ben then offered Rook a hand, which this time he accepted. At first Rook grabbed Ben's hand, but as he slowly stood up, he ended up tilting to Ben's side. Ben easily caught Rook as he staggered. Rook gave Ben an apologetic look before he steadied himself, putting a hand on Ben's shoulder. Ben then took Rook's arm and put it over his shoulders, letting the Revonnahgander lean up against him.

For the first few steps, Rook staggered a bit. However, when he knew that Ben was supporting his bad side, Rook trusted his friend to help him. Ben was concerned at first, since Rook was limping, but he then gradually went from a limp to a stagger. Ben led Rook to the back of the room, where Rook opened a small storage area and pulled out a wooden cane. Seeing Rook with a cane made Ben's stomach flip.

* * *

Max had been waiting at the desk when he saw Rook and Ben come from the hallway. Max wasn't sure what to think of the sight. Ben was standing to the side, offering support if needed, and Rook was hobbling with a cane. Max never thought he would see the day that one of his best Plumbers was disabled. He then hoped that Rook would recover. Not just because Rook couldn't be a Plumber if he was crippled, but because Grandpa Max saw how important Rook was to Ben.

At first, Max hadn't understood the sudden tenderness between the two, but now he understood. He confirmed this when he walked into the room and saw Ben lying on the floor and Rook acting as if nothing had happened. Max wasn't sure what had happened, but SOMETHING had. He could just tell.

The sight of Rook left Max broken hearted. The young man's back head had completely healed, but may have caused some sort of life term damage. His chest healed, too, but not without surgery. Rook's leg was the worst part, though. There was the possibility that Rook's leg wouldn't completely heal. Max knew that Rook must have told Ben something to smooth it over, but Max had talked to the doctor. He knew the truth.

* * *

"Since when were you my probation officer?" Argit snarled.

"Since five minutes ago." his ex-friend said back, coolly.

"Well, whatever. The real question is how you were even able to BECOME a probation officer. Don't they look at your criminal records, or something?" Argit muttered as he looked off into the distance.

"Yes." Kevin replied. "BUT, I was able to do some 'spring cleaning' in my folders."

Argit raised an eyebrow. "You do know its winter, right?"

"Look, do you want to stand around here talking about seasons, or do you want to get out of here?" Kevin snarled.

Argit then got it. He was leaving. Kevin was his probation officer. Oh, this was going to be a cake walk. "Yeah, let's bounce."

Argit headed for the door, but Kevin blocked the way. "Not so fast there, Argit!"

"What?" Argit said impatiently.

"I'm only going to be your probation officer on ONE condition." Kevin said slyly.

"What?" Argit grumbled.

"Community service." Kevin said with a sly grin, crossing his arms.

Argit backed up. "Oh, no. No. No, no, no, no. No. NO. I am NOT doing that crap over again. Last time I had to crawl in the sewers."

Kevin shrugged. "Well, I guess I could tell them I changed my mind …"

"NO!" Argit cried. "Alright! I'll do it! Just … what is it?"

Kevin grinned. He had Argit right where he wanted him. "You see, I owe an old friend of mine a favor. He just called me and asked if I could watch his friend."

"You mean BABYSITTING?" Argit said, very unhappy.

Kevin laughed. "No, I mean 'supervising'. His friend is 'crippled'. You just need to watch him for a few hours and make sure he doesn't try and kill himself, or something like that."

"Crippled?" Argit said, raising an eye brow.

Argit didn't know it, but 'the friend' Kevin was talking about was Ben, and his friend, was his partner. Rook, one of the people Argit literally couldn't stand. He may have had to watch him to make sure he wouldn't kill himself, but Argit would have to fight back the urge to do it for him.

* * *

This was the second time that Ben had entered Rook's new apartment. The first time was when he had to sneak inside to see if Rook was home, but that had been just a search. Now, Ben was actually invited inside his new home. Now that Ben looked at it, it was kind of sad. All the boxes that were still unpacked were shoved into a corner and the room consisted of a bed, coffee table, and a small drawer. Perhaps when Rook was feeling better Ben would help Rook unpack.

As Rook sat down on his bed, Ben placed the catnip on the coffee table, sighing. "I wish I could stay …"

Rook just grinned. He, too, wished the same thing. "It is alright. You have a duty."

"Yeah, but I wish that if I could pick any day I'm needed ASAP at work, it just wouldn't be today." Ben said as he sat on the bed edge, next to Rook.

"I'm fine, Ben. I'll make it alright on my own." Rook reassured.

However, Ben had a look on his face like he had done something and wasn't telling Rook. This made Rook question Ben. "What did you do?"

Ben grinned bashfully. "I … I called Kevin. He should be here any minute."

Rook groaned and lied back on his bed. "Why, Ben?"

"I was worried, and Kevin is the only person I know that you LIKE." Ben pointed out.

Rook sat back up. "What does that mean?"

"Rook, you're a really likeable person, and you seem to be nice to people even if you don't like them, but … you just don't seem to like a lot of people."

"Most of the people I meet are not worthy friends." Rook pointed out.

"I'm not asking to be friends with Kevin. I'm asking you to get along." Ben sighed.

"Alright, but just so you know, the only reason why he talks to me so much is because he expects parts for his car from me, or information on where to get them."

"Well, at least you have technology smarts in common." Ben said on the bright side.

Before Rook could reply, there was a knock on the door. Kevin let himself in.

Rook tried not to look pissed as Kevin fist bumped Ben. "Sup?"

"Nothing much." Ben lied. He looked at Rook with a loving glance before he turned back to Kevin. "I'll be back in a few hours. You better be here when I get back."

"Hey, I'm a man of my word." Kevin said, crossing his arms.

Ben sighed one last time before leaving, waving good bye to Rook. Once the door closed, Kevin turned to Rook. "So …"

"Look," Rook said, trying not to sound angry. "I don't want you here just as much as you don't want to be here –"

"And, that's why I've brought you a little friend!" Kevin interrupted. Rook looked confused by the comment.

Before Rook could question Kevin, the door opened slightly. Once Rook saw who it was, he instantly sprung up despite the numbness of his leg. "NO. NO. NO."

Argit closed the door and sighed. "Trust me, I had a similar reaction."

"You both were MADE for each other!" Rook shouted. "You both are sly, devious, untrusting RATS!"

Normally, Rook could contain his anger towards others, but his words were indeed true. He could put up with Kevin, but Argit? No. Not going to happen.

"Oh well, we tried." Argit said quickly before going to the door.

Again, Kevin blocked it. "Play nice!"

With that, Kevin left the apartment, leaving Argit and Rook alone. Both of them frowned.

* * *

It had only been a couple hours, but Ben wanted to take his break to visit Rook. He wanted to make sure that Kevin hadn't broken Rook. Ben had climbed into his car and drove quickly to Rook's apartment. He tried not to pass the speed limit, but he couldn't wait to be back with Rook, even if it was just for a few minutes. He needed to make sure that Rook was doing alright.

Once Ben pulled up to the apartments, he locked his car and hurried to the building. He had passed the lobby and was going for Rook's door, but then he smelt something. What was that? Smoke? Ben panicked, thinking Rook's apartment was on fire, but then he took another whiff. No. It wasn't smoke from a fire, but it was smoke of some kind. It didn't smell like pot or cigarettes. It smelt sour, yet somehow sweet. What was Kevin up to?

Ben knocked on the door, but there was no response. He knocked again, this time more forcefully. To his surprise, the door was unlocked and swung open. Ben then instantly blocked his face with his arm, trying to keep away the smoke that poured out of the door. It was the same smoke he had smelt. It made his eyes water.

Once Ben looked inside, he was horrified. Thinking quickly, Ben jumped into the apartment and shut the door behind him, not wanting anyone else to see, smell, or hear what was happening. Thankfully, most of the smoke had poured out when Ben opened the door, so his eyes didn't water from being inside. Sitting on the bed was Rook, looking funny. Literally funny. He looked as if someone had told him something extremely funny and he was about to pass out. When Ben looked at the corner of the room to see Argit, he became enraged.

Ben stomped over to Argit, who was also extremely happy, and picked him up by the shirt. "Argit, where's Kevin?"

Argit laughed like he heard something funny. "Kev … oh, I can't remember! Where did that jackass say he was going …? The garage! Yes, the garage!"

Ben was about to say something nasty, but Rook was sitting on his bed, laughing. "Why would he be … be in the … the place?"

Rook then rolled to the side and lied sideways on his bed, placing both hands over his mouth to muffle a laugh. Ben tried to process everything. What was happening? Something was wrong. Ben turned to Argit. "Argit, what were you doing?"

Argit just laughed as he headed over to the corner of the room. He pulled something out of Rook's bed sheets, showing it to Ben. When Ben saw what it was, he smacked the pipe out of Argit's hand. Argit looked confused.

"Argit, why hell are you smoking weed?!"

Rook looked at the two, hands over mouth. His eyes shifted like some drama had happened. "Oh, shhhiiit …"

"Okay …" Argit chuckled down. "Alright. It isn't what you think …"

"YOU GOT ROOK HIGH!" Ben roared.

"Listen …" Argit giggled. "I only had enough weed for me. Rook didn't want any, but I made him some."

"Made him some?" Ben growled.

"CATNIP!" Argit shouted as he ran to the back of the room. He hit his side on Rook's bed, falling to the ground in a heap of pain and laughter.

Ben flushed. "Rook, you're high on CATNIP?"

Rook giggled. "I swear to drugs I didn't know it was God!"

Ben didn't even bother correcting him. He just placed both his hands on his face and paced the room. "Oh, God. Oh, God. This is bad."

Ben had never known that Rook could become under the influence by catnip. Then again, it kind of made sense. Rook did kind of resemble a cat person, so he could get high of catnip … right?

"It's alright, Ben." Rook said, trying to hold back another chuckle.

"No, it's not!" Ben cried. "You're high, Rook! You're fucking high!"

"Well, my leg feels funny, but not numb anymore." Rook said, trying to look cool. "In fact, my whole body feels funny. Go drugs!"

"NOT YES! NO! No drugs!" Ben yelled, lightly slapping Rook's hands.

Rook got off the bed and stood in front of Ben. To Ben's surprise, Rook fell forward and wrapped his arms tightly around Ben's shoulders. "Hey, Ben! Guess what?"

"What?"

"GUESS WHAT?"

"WHAT?" Ben cried.

"Listen … listen … listen to me …" Rook mumbled.

"WHAT, ROOK?" Ben yelled.

"LISTEN." Rook growled, holding Ben tighter. "I … I love you, man. I have like … SO much energy right now, and I don't even know how to use it! An hour ago, Argit and I were like … running in freaking circles, man."

Ben looked both surprised and horrified by Rook's choice of words. "Um … Rook?"

"But … but we kept bumping into each other. We stopped when our faces starting hurting … but it took me like … forever to get off the floor." Rook rambled, ignoring Ben.

Ben broke free of Rook's grasp. "Rook, you're high."

"What? No, bro. I'm just like, REALLY happy."

Ben slapped his palm to his face. "Rook, just … just, no. No."

Ben gently pushed Rook onto the bed, which he allowed. He smiled weird at Ben. "Beeen, you should like … like totally get 'happy' with us!"

"HELL YEAH!" Argit yelled from where he had fallen.

"Um, no. I'd rather not." Ben said sternly.

Ben walked to where Argit was, crouching over him. "Alright, Argit. I'm going to come back as soon as possible. If there is a hair out of place on Rook's pelt, I'm calling the cops on you for having illegal drugs."

Argit stared blankly at Ben, and then nodded.

"Good." Ben snarled. He got up and went for the door, but froze and blushed at Rook's singing. He just continued to walk out the door as Rook sang.

"'Baby come back!

Any kind of fool could see,

There was something in everything about you.

Baby come back!

You can blame it all on me!'"

Ben made sure to close the door, so no one else heard the song. Sure enough, Ben's face was bright red.

* * *

_EDIT: Okay, would people PLEASE stop leaving comment like 'I don't like this because of the drugs' and 'WTF, Rook is crippled?'. Just stop. I'm tired of telling people to wait until later to explain what happened. It was CATNIP. Catnip? No need to yell at me over a catnip scene. Plus, (see what you made be do? you made me spill the beans) Argit SAYS he used weed, but who ever trusts Argit? Yeah, thats what I thought. Sorry, I'm just really tired of this._

_Oh, this has to be my favorite chapter so far. _

_Rook: "Go drugs!"_

_LMFAO ! _

_Yeah, I should really be doing homework instead of writing this stuff..._

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS))_


	11. Chapter 10

**WARNING: This chapter contains nudity and sexual themes. Seriously ...**

Chapter 10 –

Things had gone down hill from there. Well, mostly. When Ben returned practically holding Kevin by the ear, Rook had calmed down and was dozing off on his bed. The catnip seemed to have taken a new effect on him and turned from a high into a stimulant. Argit was sitting in the corner of the room looking extremely bored. Ben began yelling at Kevin as if Kevin had done something unforgivable. Kevin seemed shocked at how angry Ben was. Afterward, Ben just pointed to Argit. Kevin nodded and chewed out Argit.

While Kevin screamed at Argit and repeatedly threatened to beat him, Ben just sat near the bed's side, making sure that Rook was alright and really sleeping. Rook looked so innocent lying in his white sheets, taking a cat nap. Ben carefully traced his finger tips along Rook's jaw. In response, Rook slightly tilted his head and seemed to purr. Ben just smiled, wondering how Rook could sleep so peacefully with Kevin screaming at the top of his lungs.

Ben stood up and turned towards Kevin and Argit. "Quiet." he hissed.

Kevin stopped shouting and turned to Ben. Argit was sitting in the corner with his face buried in his shirt. When Kevin stopped yelling, he slightly peaked out.

"You," Ben said, pointing to Argit, "Explain yourself."

"Yeah." Kevin said, crossing his arms. "Ben here says you were on weed. You don't smell anything like weed. The only thing I smell here is burning plants."

Argit fully came out of his shirt, sighing. "Alright! Fine, I lied."

"Why would you lie about having weed?" Ben snarled.

"Oh, I don't know." Argit said sarcastically. "You came in here when there was smoke everywhere and Rook looked like he was about to pass about from being so high."

Kevin crossed his arms. "High? Well, if you want to call it that, sure."

"What?" Ben said, tuning to Kevin.

Kevin turned to Argit, like he was going to hit him, making Argit hide back in his shirt. Kevin grinned and turned to Ben. "It was CATNIP. To Rook it may have been some form of drugs, but I doubt it was anything close to a high. Mostly just a stimulant that was taken as an overdose."

"He kind of does look like a cat." Argit peeped from inside his shirt.

"Whatever." Ben said ruefully. He turned back to Argit. "But WHY would you lie about the weed? Sure, Rook looked high, but what was the point of lying?"

Argit looked out just enough to see Ben. "I thought that if you thought I was high you wouldn't start screaming at me."

"So, you would rather Tennyson not scream at you than me?" Kevin said, looking stern.

"Um …" Argit said, now getting it. He now would have rather had Ben rule out his punishment instead of Kevin. "Do I still have a choice …?"

"Nope." Kevin said with a sly grin.

Ben crossed his arms. "It just sickens me that you would act high."

"Well, with all the smoke in the room and the sour smells, I was kind of loopy. So part of it wasn't really faked." Argit confessed.

"Argit, I'm going to do what Rook would want me to do." Ben sighed.

Kevin looked disappointed, but Argit looked relived. Both knew that Rook was merciful, but Ben knew him better. Rook would only do one thing in a situation like this.

"Kevin, do what you like." Ben decided.

"NO!" Argit cried as Kevin dragged Argit out of the apartment by the back of his shirt collar, grinning wickedly.

* * *

Ben had waited for the rest of the day beside Rook's bedside, waiting for his partner to awake. Rook had been in a peaceful sleep for at least an hour. For that hour, all Rook had done was purr (which Ben thought was a substitute for a snore) and turn in his sleep every now and again.

Once he woke up, he flickered his golden eyes at Ben. He did a giant yawn. "Ben …?"

Ben grinned weakly. "Hey, Rook."

Rook looked away, thinking about what had happened. Had he even remembered any of it? By the look of the dark red blush, he must have remembered something. He buried half his face in the sheets and looked at Ben through the corners of his eyes, embarrassed at what he had said to Ben earlier.

Sighing deeply, Rook sat up in bed as he looked at Ben, still blushing. Before he could say anything, Ben leaned forward and pressed his lips against Rook's. Ben could taste the bitter sweet taste of what was left of the catnip, but he didn't care. For a moment, they could both forget about the past problems. They could forget about the catnip incident with Argit and Kevin. And they could certainly forget about Rook's bad leg. Or at least they could try.

* * *

For the next few days, all Ben and Rook did was chill.

After the catnip incident, Ben came to Rook's apartment the next day to see how Rook was making out, but was shocked to see that Rook was doing just fine. In fact, Rook was almost finished unpacking his stuff. He still needed to use his cane, but every now and again (if it was just a short distance) he would just hobble across the room. This filled Ben's heart with hope that Rook would fully heal.

That day, Ben helped Rook unpack more of his stuff. When they became tired of this, they took a break and just sat down on Rook's couch and watched some TV. When Ben went into Rook's cabinets for something to eat, he found out something new about Rook.

"Rook, do you like peanut butter?" Ben asked.

Rook looked embarrassed. "I find it addicting."

Ben had just laughed.

Sometimes, Rook would visit Ben's apartment instead. There he would help Ben unpack even though Ben worried about Rook's bad leg. Whenever they weren't unpacking, watching TV, or just hanging around, they would explore the Undertown. At first, people (or creatures) would stare at Rook, but Rook didn't care. He soon became swift on his cane to the point that he hardly needed it. Every now and again Ben would hold Rook's cane so Rook could free style.

Secretly, off to the side of their fun, Ben and Rook would share some tender moments. If they were alone, they would work in a kiss here and there. Nothing serious. Ben had enjoyed this extremely. Although it was just pecks and snuggles every now and again, he just loved being in the company of Rook.

However, it was later that week that things changed.

Rook had left on a Thursday for a physical. Ben had so wanted to be with Rook, but he couldn't. Just like before, when something big was happening, Ben had to be at HQ. Ben had begged Grandpa Max to stay with Rook, but Max had said no to the idea. If Rook wasn't at work, then Ben had to be. One of the two boys had to be at work for the other to skip out for a short period. Nevertheless, Max had assured Ben that he thought Rook would check out fine and everyone would be crossing their fingers.

Ben had been jittery all day. He couldn't help thinking about his partner. What had the doctor said? Was Rook alright? Was he going to fully heal? Ben was on edge the entire day.

The next day had been about the same. He was needed ASAP at HQ because there was a major leak in the pipes. All Plumbers that were active were needed to help stop it before things got too out of hand. Ben had thought he could just skip out, but Grandpa Max was keeping a close eye on Ben. Ben had to stay.

It was only later that day when the situation was more under control that Grandpa Max let Ben go. Ben had wasted no time in getting to Rook's apartment. He needed to know how the physical went.

Ben knocked on the apartment door, waiting for a response.

"It's open." Rook said from the inside.

Ben opened the door and stepped inside the apartment. Rook was sitting on the couch in baggy pants and a t-shirt. He had been reading a book, but he just marked his spot and tossed the book on the coffee table. When he saw Ben, he smiled warmly. Ben smiled back and shut the door behind him.

He walked over to the couch and sat next to Rook. "How did the physical go?"

"Good." Rook replied plainly.

"Good?" Ben echoed. "What did the doctor say?"

"Stuff." Rook said, looking away.

Ben's heart raced. He started to fear the worst. On impulse, he leaned over and wrapped his arms around Rook, feeling like he would break down. "Rook …"

Rook sighed, but not in a sad way. He seemed expressionless. He leaned his head on Ben's for a moment. He then wiggled out of Ben's grasp and stood up. Ben's expression of pure amazement was priceless. Rook was standing perfectly fine. The best part was when Ben looked like he had seen something amazing when Rook began walking perfectly fine towards the kitchen.

Rook whistled a tune as he opened the cabinets. "You want some peanut butter?"

* * *

Ben and Rook had spent the rest of the day messing around.

Ben couldn't be any happier. Rook was going to be alright. All the exercising on his leg had done him some good. Now, he would be able to return to work the following day. Ben had already called Grandpa Max to tell him the good news. Grandpa Max had responded with almost as much happiness as Ben had.

That night, Ben and Rook had eaten pizza and peanut butter while they watched some movies. They had watched scary, funny, and science fiction movies. All the while they had laughed and shared stories. Most of the stories they had already told before, but they always enjoyed hearing stories of and from each other.

They were currently watching a movie, slouched back on the couch, when Ben leaned his head on Rook's chest. Lately, there hadn't been that many tender moments between the two and Ben feared that they were growing apart. Ben had very much liked Rook. He didn't ever say it to Rook (and certainly to anyone else), but he had wanted to be more than friends, or partners.

In response to the motion, Rook placed his arm around Ben's shoulders, holding him tight. As they watched the movie, Ben snuggled into Rook's shirt, sharing his warmth. He couldn't be happier than being with Rook.

As time passed, Ben looked up at Rook. He had been staring at Rook for a while, but Rook must have caught the glare of Ben's eyes as he looked back at Ben. He smiled at Ben warmly.

"Rook?" Ben said.

"Yes?"

"Do … do you ever wonder what it would be like if we …" Ben mumbled. "If we were more than partners?"

Rook seemed confused, but he answered the best he could. "You mean like … some form of higher status? I assume that even if we were there, we could still be partners of some sorts."

"That wasn't exactly what I meant." Ben chuckled weakly. "I meant like … if our relationship changed from friends to something … more."

Rook then understood. He gazed into Ben's eyes before he responded. "I thought we already were more than friends."

Ben grinned in satisfaction. Yes, that had been indeed what he wanted to hear. He leaned in and planted a tender kiss on Rook's lips. Ben wrapped his arms around Rook's waist as Rook ruffled Ben's hair.

Ben trailed his tongue along Rook's lower lip, tempting him. Rook then parted his lips, letting his forked tongue mash together with Ben's. Ben then tightened his grip on Rook's waist as Rook ran his hands under Ben's shirt. His warm hands trailed down Ben's back, sending shivers of excitement down Ben's spine.

Then, Rook ran his hands down to Ben's waist. His hands lowered to Ben's rear as he pulled Ben forward onto Rook's lap. This caused Ben to release a low gasp from the back of his throat. They parted the kiss, panting, but their lips still brushing against each other.

Rook's body was spread out on the big, soft couch, but he saw sitting up, propped against the couch's arm. Ben sat up on Rook's waist, staring his soon-to-be-lover in the eye. He had secretly wanted to go further. He had wanted to tear off Rook's clothes and take things to a whole new level, but a part of Ben wanted to see the dominate side of Rook. Ben had seen this side emerge every now and again, but Ben had wanted it to show at that very moment. Whenever Rook acted in such a dominate way, Ben felt thrilled.

At first, all Rook did was hold Ben tightly pressed to his body and make out with him a little more, but then he got serious. Placing one hand on Ben's rear and another on Ben's back, Rook hoisted Ben off his waist and threw Ben onto the couch. With Ben's back to the cushions and Rook hovering over him, half lying onto of him, Ben gave a grunt of surprise and pleasure. This was the side of Rook he had been waiting for.

Ben, for a brief moment, propped himself up. Rook began fumbling with Ben's shirt until it had finally pulled free. He threw the shirt onto the ground, along with Ben's pants. Ben did the same to Rook, pulling free his shirt and pants, throwing them to the ground.

Rook lowered himself so that his chest was pressed against Ben's. At first, they kissed desperately, but they pulled away from it, swallowing not only from the saliva, but from nervousness. Ben had done this once, but that was with his old girlfriend, Julie, almost two years ago. Ben had only done it with her because he thought that she was the one. Plus, they had been dating for a whole year. Ben now knew that wasn't long enough. He and Rook hadn't been dating, but he knew that he and Rook had much more chemistry. Ben was positive he wanted to do this with Rook.

Ben buried his face in Rook's shoulder, his legs wrapped around Rook's waist. Rook leaned in and pressed his lips against Ben's neck. At first, they both just stayed in the current positions, trying to take in deep breaths. They were both breathless from their actions and excitement. Once Rook was breathing alright, he began kissing Ben on his neck.

"Hmm …" Ben murmured, feeling his excitement grow. Ben wrapped his arms tightly around Rook's bare back.

Rook changed from a light peck to sucking greedily on Ben's skin. Ben fought back a shrill cry as he clawed at Rook's back. Rook grunted lightly from this, but he kept sucking on the bare neck. Rook then moved to a higher spot on Ben's neck, hitting a tender spot. Once Rook hit the tender spot, Ben couldn't hold back a cry and groan.

The cry made Rook's pleasure grow, making him let out a low gasp. Rook suddenly felt warm and as if his excitement was at it peak. Something then grew in his boxers, making Ben let out another cry of excitement. Rook stopped sucking on Ben's neck, panting heavily. Ben pulled his face away from Rook's shoulder.

Rook repositioned himself so that their chests were no longer touching, but Rook's waist was still pressed onto Ben's. As the pleasure in Rook's pants grew, so did Ben's, making the two press tightly together. Ben had wanted to get straight to the great part, but he didn't want to rush Rook into anything. He just nuzzled into Rook's neck, not kissing or sucking, but just pressing his lips against the skin and taking in deep breaths.

Rook's chest wasn't touching Ben's, but his elbows propped his only a few inches away from Ben. Rook wanted to be as close to Ben as he could, but he knew that to do what he was itching to do, he could need to be positioned differently. Thankfully, Ben's legs were already wrapped around Rook's waist, so Rook didn't have to reposition too much. As Ben held tightly to Rook's back, Rook seemed to rub up against Ben, making Ben groan loudly as Rook roughly rubbed his torso against Ben's.

The sensation left the two out of breath, both breathing heavily. Finally, when Ben thought his body would explode from the build up of pleasure, he ran his hands down Rook's back, stopping at the lining of Rook's boxers. As Ben's hands tightly gripped around Rook's hips, Rook let out a loud groan. Rook sat up a little more, doing the same to Ben. Once Rook's boxers and Ben's underwear were thrown to the ground, they got serious.

Rook repositioned himself one last time before doing something he had never done before. He wasn't sure if he would do it right, but nevertheless, all he wanted to do was give great pleasure to his soon-to-be-lover. Ben lied on his back, staring at Rook with toxic green eyes, waiting for the new sensation to arrive. Without hesitating, Rook plunged into Ben.

In response, Ben let out a loud cry. Rook pulled back, afraid he had hurt his lover. What had he done wrong? However, when Rook gazed into Ben's eyes, he didn't see pain or hurt of any kind. There was only pure excitement. Rook had been excited, too, but there was also a small tingle of fear. What if he had hurt Ben?

Rook was about to fully pull out when Ben cried out with excitement. "R-Rook! D-don't stop!"

Rook gave a slight smile before he plunged into Ben, again. Ben gave another cry of pleasure as he held tightly to Rook's waist. For about another minute, Rook continued pulling slightly out and going back in deeper. Each time he did so, Ben cried and groaned louder. Rook had been afraid that someone in the next door apartment would hear, but Rook didn't think too much of it.

Suddenly, something felt hot inside Rook. The same was for Ben. Rook let out a shrilled cry as he was the first to climax. From the sudden new sensation, Ben let out a similar cry. After the wave had passed, Ben climaxed, as well. Once they both had finished, they were panting, breathless from the experience. Rook then fully pulled out of Ben and snuggled up beside him. Rook had then been worried that he hadn't done it right, or Ben hadn't really enjoyed it. However, when Ben looked at Rook, he eyes were full of excitement and love.

Rook had used the last of his strength to reach over the back of the couch to grab the blanket that was hanging off the side. He pulled it over him and Ben. Ben snuggled up to Rook and buried his face in Rook's chest. They had wrapped each other in their arms, falling into a light sleep together, wanting to get a little rest before they started fooling around again.

* * *

_I made this chapter special even thought it's short. I mainly did so because of the double digits. Needed to reward myself for getting this far into the fan fiction._

_Yeah, I know Ben's allergic to peanuts, but I love peanut butter and told my friend that I loved it so much that I would put it in the fan fiction and make Rook and Ben eat it together. She didn't believe me. No one ever does until I post this crap. Ha ha!_

_Just so people know, there WILL NOT be male pregnancy in this fan fiction. Just letting people know so they don't stress about it. _

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS))_


	12. Chapter 11

**WARNING: This chapter contains nudity.**

Chapter 11 –

Ben woke up the next day to the sweet smell of Rook. He had at one point been snuggled up against Rook's chest, but once they both got enough rest, they started fooling around some more. Rook had topped most that night, since Ben had greatly enjoyed it, but Ben thought he owed it to Rook to top at least once that night. They were both still on Rook's couch, under a warm blanket, which also smelled of Rook.

Now, Rook's front was pressed against Ben's back, his arm wrapped around Ben's side. When Ben woke up, he at first didn't remember the previous events that had happened that night. However, the scent of Rook, Rook's arm over Ben's side, and both their bare bodies under the warm blanket made Ben blush deeply from the memory.

Ben closed his eyes, wanting to stay in the warm blanket with his lover for a while longer. His eyes snapped back open when he felt Rook shift around, pulling his hand away. Ben rolled around to face his lover. His looked at Rook with toxic green eyes. Rook's sleepy eyes stared back at Ben's.

Rook gave a cute yawn. "Good morning."

"Morning." Ben replied. He slightly blushed, grinning. "You purr in your sleep."

Rook blushed deeply, looking away, but looking back at Ben, grinning. "You snore in your sleep."

"Shut up." Ben said playfully. He leaned in and lightly kissed Rook on the nose.

Rook fought back the urge to giggle and flinch back. So, he just purred loudly and nuzzled his forehead against Ben's. They stayed like this for a moment, nuzzled against each other's bare bodies, sharing each other's warmth.

"Rook?" Ben muttered, still trying to wake up.

"Yes?"

"Why do you purr?"

Rook thought about this for a moment. He had wanted to tell Ben about how that there was a gland in his throat that vibrated, but he thought better. Ben might not have meant that. Rook just looked into Ben's curious eyes, and smiled. "The same as earth cats, I guess."

"You mean like … when you're happy?"

"Kind of." Rook chuckled. "In happy moments and in duress."

"That's … good?" Ben asked.

"Yes." Rook answered.

"Good." Ben chuckled, moving his lips to Rook's forehead. He lightly brushed his lips against the violet colored skin, making Rook purr some more. Ben loved the sound of Rook purring. It sounded only faintly like a common house cat's purr. It sounded more like a lion's, but gentle enough to wrap Ben in loving warmth.

After a few moments of resting, Rook finally sighed and sat up on the couch. The blanket covered Ben and Rook's lower halves, but exposed their torsos. Ben blushed at the sight of Rook's chest. He had seen it well the night before, but it looked stunning in the morning light. Not just his muscles amazed Ben, but his markings did as well. Ben found it amazing how his chest, face, and whole underside were a pale hue of violet while the rest of his base was a darker violet, almost blue. His black stripes covered his back and stretched over to his front. These stripes were also on his face, head, legs, and arms. Over the night, Ben had been able to 'observe' these markings more closely.

Rook climbed off the couch and slowly walked to the back of the apartment. Ben blushed and looked away from the sight of Rook's bare body. By the time Ben looked back up, Rook was in a new pair of boxers and was digging through his closet for his Proto-Tech suit. Once he finally fished it out, he slipped it on with ease. For once in over a week, he wore his Proto-Tech suit. Ben had already begun to miss the laid back Rook who wore baggy pants and t-shirts, but he missed his partner who wore Proto-Tech armor more.

Ben slid out of the warmth of the blankets and searched the floor for his underwear. He found that and his pants, pulling both on. Ben searched the floor for his shirt, but just couldn't seem to find it. He heard Rook clearing his throat, so Ben looked up. Rook held Ben's shirt in one hand. When Ben looked up, Rook lightly tossed the shirt to his lover. Ben gave Rook a thankful glance before pulling the shirt on.

* * *

After leaving HQ, Rook went back to his apartment with Ben. Ben hadn't really stayed that long. He had stayed at Rook's apartment for only an hour before he left. While he was at Rook's apartment, they had just watched some TV while cuddling on the couch. Both were tired from a long day of work and had just wanted to relax. After a while, Ben had kissed Rook good bye before leaving to his parent's house.

He hadn't seen his parents in over a week. Ben had seemed to spend every moment with Rook ever since he came out of the hospital, but his parents seemed to worry about Ben. So, Ben decided it was time to pay them another visit. It would take some time, but soon they wouldn't worry as much and wouldn't expect him to visit too frequently.

Once Ben left Rook's apartment, he sat in his own car and called his mother. It took only seconds for her to answer.

"Ben?"

"Yeah, Mom. It's me." he said, starting up his car.

"Ben! How have things been?" she asked.

Ben chuckled. "Good. How about back there?"

Ben's mom sighed. "We've been better, but you know how work can get to your father. It's been lonely around here without you around."

"Speaking of which," Ben brought up. "I was wondering if I could come over and –"

"Yes." Ben's mother interrupted. "Yes, please come over. I've been missing you dearly."

Ben smiled. "Alright. I'll be there in a few."

"Love you!" Ben's mom cooed.

"I love you too, Mom." Ben said coolly before ending the call.

Once his car was warmed up, Ben drove towards his parent's house. However, along the way, he stopped at his apartment to get his hoodie. His mother would throw a fit seeing him out in the cold without a jacket or hoodie of any kind. Once he grabbed his hoodie, he went back to his car and headed off to his old home.

Once he got there, he was greeted by his mother wrapping her arms around him warmly. Ben hugged her back.

"Is Dad home?" Ben asked.

"Yes. He got off work early. He had to tell his boss that he was sick, but he really just needed to get away from all the stress."

Ben nodded. "I understand."

Ben's mom gave him a thankfully glance and lead him inside the house. Once inside, she removed her scarf and jacket. Ben kept his hoodie on just because of the fact that he thought it was cozy. His mother gave Ben a warm smile and walked through the living room.

"You want some cocoa?" she asked her son.

Ben grinned and nodded. "That would be nice."

His mother then flounced off to the kitchen to make some cocoa. While she was in the kitchen, Ben's dad walked down the stairs, looking tired, but trying not to show it. When he saw Ben he grinned wide. "Ben, it's great to see you again, son."

"Good to see you too, Dad." Ben said with a slight grin.

Ben sat on the couch and just seemed to be resting. His dad sighed and sat next to him, seeing his son in a tired state, as well. "Long day at work?"

Ben nodded. "You too?"

His Dad sighed, again. "Yes."

Ben gave his dad a weak smile. "Well, Mom's making some cocoa."

His dad shut his eyes and leaned his head on the back of the couch. "That sounds nice."

Within moments, Ben's mother returned to the living room with two cups of cocoa. She handed Ben one and the other to his dad. She went back to the kitchen and returned with a cup of her own. They all sat on the couch together, drinking some cocoa, getting warm and comfortable.

Once they all had had their fill, Ben's mom took the cups to the kitchen to put them in the sink. Ben followed her, making sure she didn't need any help. Noticing she had to stack the cups on top of a pile of dishes, Ben offered to help her do some dish cleaning. She had said no at first, but decided that she needed all the help she could get now that Ben no longer lived under the same roof. As he helped his mother clean dishes, his father walked in the doorway of the kitchen and watched his wife and son work together.

Once they had finished cleaning the dishes, the doorbell rang. Ben's mother sighed. "That must be the neighbors, again."

Ben's mother left her husband and son alone in the kitchen while she walked into the living room. From the sound of it, who ever was at the door had a bone to pick. Ben's father looked like he was going to help his wife, but decided not to from the sound of her voice. She could take care of herself just fine. Ben leaned against the counter, looking tired. His father suddenly gave Ben a strange glance. Ben felt puzzled.

Suddenly, his father walked up to Ben. "Let me see you, son."

"What?" Ben asked, confused.

Ben's dad took his son's chin and tilted his head, exposing his neck. Ben had taken some time to notice what his father was glaring at, but once he figured it out, Ben pulled away from his father's grip and shrugged his shoulders, making his hoodie cover part of his neck. Ben knew that doing so was useless, though, since the skin had been sucked high up the neck.

Ben's heart thumped in his chest. By the sour expression on his father's face, he seemed to know. How could Ben be so careless? When Ben woke up that morning, he had completely forgotten that Rook had left a red mark on Ben's neck the night before. Ben begged for his mother to shut the door and return to the kitchen, taking his father's attention away, but from the sound of the voices in the living room, his mother wasn't going to be done any time soon.

Ben and his dad stood in awkward silence for a while. Seconds turned to minutes. Finally, his father broke the silence. "Ben, I expected more from you."

Ben flinched, as if he had been struck. "W-what?"

"Ben, you're all grown up. You should be able to decide right from wrong yourself. You should know this is wrong."

Ben thought about his father's words. They seemed to spin his in head. Wrong? Being with Rook was … wrong? Ben then understood. He went from being frightened to being slightly angry. "Dad, I do know right from wrong. I know this is right."

His dad shook his head, sadly. "Ben …"

"What is so wrong with being with Rook, Dad?" Ben hissed.

"Ben. It's WRONG."

Ben felt himself steaming. "What do you have against me being …?"

Ben couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. His father looked like he had wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by the sound of the front door slamming shut. His mother was muttering to herself as she walked into the kitchen. She looked at her husband, seeing his arms crossed and glaring at Ben. She looked to Ben to see he looked both saddened and angry. She knew something had happened.

"Did I miss something?" she asked.

Ben opened his mouth to say something, but his father interrupted him. "No. Nothing happened."

Ben ignored his father's words and glare to keep quiet, but Ben knew he couldn't go on with his father's disapproval and his mother's confusion. "Mom …"

"Ben." his father warned.

Ben didn't look at his father, just at his mother. She turned to her husband and gave him a glance, shutting him up. She turned back to Ben and nodded.

"Mom, Dad …" Ben said, this time addressing both his parents. Ben took in a deep breath. "I think I'm gay."

* * *

Ben now sat in his car, parked in the parking lot of his apartment building. His face was in his hands as he tried to stay calm. After he had told his parents that he might be gay, things had basically gone down hill from there. Ben had been hoping that his mother would then come to his rescue. He had wanted her to tell him how they would support any choices he made, but she had just seemed to be frozen. His father, however, was ready. He had wrapped his arms around his wife, giving Ben a look of pure disappointment.

Ben had left then. He hadn't bothered to say good bye or that he loved them. He walked through the door, got in his car, and left. Simple as that.

Now, Ben sat in his car, feeling deep regret. How could he be with Rook and be accepted by his parents at the same time? Although Ben didn't want to admit it to himself, he knew that he would eventually have to make a choice. Ben didn't want to do that. Part of Ben said that he was going to be with Rook and no one could say other wise, but Ben had loved his parents. If being with Rook meant losing his parents …

Ben hadn't wanted to think of that. It wouldn't come to that. Would it?

Ben just sighed painfully as he got out of his car. All the way to his apartment he dragged his feet. Once he was finally inside, he went straight to the separate room he used at a bedroom. Ben had went through the other door to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror.

He hadn't been crying, but his eyes were pink and puffy. Ben felt like he was having a horrible headache, so he went through the bathroom drawers, looking for Aspirin. Once he found the pill container, he tapped out two pills and swallowed them dry. He put away the bottle and just stared at the mirror. Ben then felt dizzy. He went to go back into his bedroom, but he didn't have enough energy. He had just slinked off to the corner of the bathroom and sat on the floor. He hugged his knees to his chest and buried his face in his hoodie. He didn't cry then, but he felt as if something had died inside him.

* * *

Rook had been cleaning his couch when he sighed. After Ben had left, things had turned strange. The moment Ben left, Rook decided to clean his apartment. He went out of his apartment to throw away some trash into the bin outside when he heard snickering. Rook had at first ignored it as he threw everything away, but when he came back inside the building, there were some other alien Plumbers standing by the front desk, drinking some coffee.

Rook had raised his eye brow, noticing the snickering and whispers were directed at him, but he tried not to let it get to him. However, before he could go down the hall towards his apartment, a nosey resident stopped him.

"Hey, Rook. Have fun last night?" someone had said.

Rook had turned around to see some residents were snickering. Understanding the Plumber's words, Rook blushed deeply. He had been afraid that someone would hear the noises made the night before, but he hadn't thought too much of it until then. Rook had then rushed back to his apartment with others chuckling and laughing. Rook hadn't been sure how much they knew, though. He couldn't be sure they knew he had done it with Ben, and not just some other person. Rook was also sure that when they left that morning, no one had seen the two leaving together.

Now, as Rook finished cleaning his couch, he sat back down on it, feeling tired. He didn't like this. He didn't like this at all. He didn't like how he was in constant fear of people's knowing and gossip. Sighing in utter defeat, Rook lied on his couch, taking an uneasy nap. He then wondered about how he was going to deal with the situation. He had wanted nothing more than to be with Ben, but also knew that doing so would spread around rumors. Rook had never taken kindly to rumors, so he ignored them, but if it affected his work, then there was a problem. Rook had loved his job, but he knew he would have to decide which he loved most: Ben or his life's work.

* * *

_After a happy chapter, I knew that there had to be something that brought them down. Sorry to the people who were hoping this chapter would be warm and fuzzy like that last one. I guess it's warm and fuzzy at the beginning, though._

_Basically Ben and Rook are starting to hit bumps in their relationship. They both had a bad day and people just won't seem to approve of them being together. And I'm not just talking about Ben's parents. Oh, but don't worry. Even if Ben's mom is stiff right now, she goes A LOT softer on Ben than his dad does._

_Bad days are bad. Rook and Ben now get that._

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS))_


	13. Chapter 12

**WARNING: This chapter contains strong language. **

Chapter 12 –

"Have you heard the news?" one Plumber asked the other two.

One shook his head. "It's hardly news. Just another stupid rumor."

The third Plumber looked ecstatic. "It's not just a rumor! I was there!"

"Really?" the first asked.

The third nodded his head. "Yeah. I live two apartments down from the guy."

The second, who seemed to think it was all just a rumor, wasn't exactly sure what they meant. "So, is it true that it was Rook?"

The third nodded his head. "Yeah."

Groaning, the first turned to the third. "Is it true you could 'hear' it?"

He crinkled his nose, nodding to the first. "Yeah. They did it all night and Ben wouldn't shut up. I couldn't even fall asleep for more than half an hour."

The second was wide eyed. "So it's true? It was Ben? How could you tell?"

The first rolled his eyes, answering for the third. "I wasn't there, but I didn't have to be to know that Ben has been going to Rook's apartment every chance he gets. People were already starting to talk about how they were going unusually close. I'm personally not surprised that they fucked."

Scratching the back of his head, the third turned to the second. "We knew it was Ben, but at first we were a little confused. He sounded more like a drunken whore at first, but we could tell it was him, alright."

As the first opened his mouth, wanting to say something about the matter, the second made a hissing sound, telling the others to be quiet. Just as he did so, Rook Blonko passed them through the room. He glanced at the group, but looked away.

Rook knew what they were talking about. He had tried to not let it get to him, but he couldn't shake the feeling that everyone was staring at him. He couldn't help feeling that he was the target that everyone was preying on. Rook had also tried to get away from the gossip, but he couldn't escape his doom. Something was about to happen.

Just the day, Rook had passed Max. Normally, Max would've greeted Rook warmly, but all Max did was nod briefly and walk off in a different direction. It had only been a matter of time since he heard the news, any way. Rook had also seen Ben that day. Although he had wanted to greet Ben, he had kept his distance. Rook had never been more confused. He wasn't sure if being apart from Ben would hurt him more than being together. Rook knew he needed to decide between work and his lover, but Rook couldn't help feeling that the choice was in the hands of others. Why should he be the one to suffer from other's opinion?

Truth was, even though he never told his lover, Rook had loved Ben deeply. He had wanted nothing more than to be with him, but the world just seemed to be against it at that moment. Although it pained Rook, he knew what he had to do. He would have to shove Ben way. At least, for the time being. Maybe if things cleared up, they could be together again.

After Rook had decided on this plan of action, he soon learned that Ben had a similar plan. Even when Rook was tempted to get somewhat close to Ben, his once-lover just shoved him away, as well. At first, this had crushed Rook, but he knew he was doing the same to Ben. Rook hadn't wanted to hurt Ben, but as much as it pained him to know, he knew it was the only thing he could do.

* * *

Yes, it was true. Ben had been avoiding Rook the whole day. He hadn't wanted to, but he knew there wasn't another option. Ben had already made his choice. No matter how much Ben knew he wanted Rook, he just simply couldn't have him. Rook was sweet, but he was too sweet. Ben knew that if something was too good to be true, than it was most likely not even real. Rook had felt so real, though, to Ben.

Ben had wanted to feel Rook again, but he knew that he couldn't. He loved his parents with all his heart. H couldn't just cut them out of his life. Ben had heard before about how he would have to cut his parents out of his life if they didn't support his decisions, but he couldn't ever do that. These were the people who raised him from birth into the man he was now. He couldn't just simply dump them.

Ben had already decided that he would go to his parent's house that night, again. He knew it was soon, considering he had just seen them the night before, but he knew what he had to do. Ben had to come crawling back to his parents, begging for forgiveness and telling his father how he was wrong. He was wrong to think that there was something special between him and Rook.

Ben had to stop to think about that statement. He knew it was false. He and Rook DID have something special. For a moment, Ben had wondered why he should let something this special slip through his fingers, but he already knew what he had to do. Ben was only confused was all.

Every now and again, if Ben thought about the matter too much, he would let hot tears roll down his cheeks. He hadn't sobbed or full out cried, but he did only allow tears to fall every now and again, when he thought it was healthy. But Ben didn't feel healthy. He felt sick. Horribly sick.

* * *

Ben hadn't visited his parents that night. He knew he had made a plan, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. For the whole night, all Ben had done was lie in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He hadn't thought about anything then. His mind was completely cleared, in a daze.

Ben had wanted to sob, but he knew it was useless. He just couldn't bring himself to cry in such a way, nor approach anyone. Even when Grandpa Max had tried approaching Ben about the matter, all Ben did was wave Grandpa Max off. He hated ignoring people. It may have hurt them, but it also hurt Ben. He hated to know that he was slowly shoving away the ones he loved, but he didn't know what else to do.

* * *

The next day, the second day of ignoring society, Ben hadn't felt pain anymore. He felt numb. He hadn't said a single word to anyone that day. He had ignored Rook, even though they were supposed to report as a team. He had ignored Grandpa Max. He had even ignored the other Plumbers, no matter how many gay jokes they made about Ben and Rook. Ben hadn't minded the word 'gay' before, but when others used it in a wrong way, he felt as if he was being shunned. He, Ben Tennyson, was being picked on and casted aside by the crowd. This wouldn't do.

Although Ben knew it would cause a gigantic problem, Ben decided to see Rook.

* * *

Rook had finished repairing a drive when he heard the disruption.

While he had been repairing the drive, there had been a group of Plumbers who were making jokes and gossiping about Rook and Ben all over again. Rook found it amazing how it had only been two days, yet the rumors were spreading like wild fire. It had gotten to the point where now the other Plumbers were openly gossiping, even though they knew Rook was in the same room.

Rook had heard the door to the room open, but Rook didn't look up. He was fully concentrated on blocking out the voices and repairing the drive. He heard footsteps coming towards him, but then he heard snickering. Although Rook didn't know who was behind him, he felt as if he knew. He had turned, but was too late.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Ben had snarled at the group.

At the sound of aggression in Ben's voice, the group stopped snickering and whispering to each other. They just stared blankly at Ben. Half of the group was aliens, while the other half was humans. None of them had ever heard Ben cuss before, so they knew that he was furious.

"You think your jokes are SO funny, don't you? Why don't you mind your own fucking business and piss off." Ben roared.

Rook watched wide eyed as the Plumbers, without saying a single word, left the room in haste. Ben's back was to Rook as he breathed heavily. Rook just watched in silence. He could hear sniffling coming from Ben. Ben wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, looking like he would break down.

"Ben …" Rook whispered, taking a step closer to Ben.

Without looking at Rook, Ben left the room, as well, leaving behind a confused Rook.

* * *

Once Rook got to the parking lot, he was saddened to see that Ben had already left. As Rook walked towards his truck, he noticed that a group that was in the parking lot gave Rook a glance, but didn't say anything as they parted. Rook sighed a breath of relief, knowing that he didn't have to hear any more rumors for the rest of the day.

Rook just got into his truck with a saddened expression. He had driven to his apartment building, feeling as if he were numb. He had then parked in the parking lot of his building, locking his truck and walking inside. There was no one by the front desk, so Rook slipped by soundlessly as he walked towards the small hall leading to his apartment.

Rook froze from what he saw. Ben was sitting in front of Rook's apartment door, his head buried in his knees. Once Ben heard the footsteps, he looked up. His eyes were pink and puffy, like he had wanted to cry, but was holding everything in. Ben was beginning to get up when Rook rushed over and grabbed the side of Ben's arm, lifting him to his feet. Instantly, Ben flung himself at Rook's side, begging for comfort.

Rook took in a deep breath, not knowing what was happening. Although he knew that he shouldn't even be near Ben, he held Ben tightly as Ben breathed heavily, as if wanting to sob. Rook used his free hand to unlock his apartment and open the door. Rook pulled Ben inside, still holding him tightly. Rook closed the door behind him. He intended to bring Ben to his bed or couch, to sit down while Ben explained to Rook, but they didn't make it that far. In the middle of the room, they just collapsed.

Ben wrapped his frail arms around Rook's sides and buried his face in Rook's chest, sobbing. After holding everything in for two days, Ben finally released it all. Rook carefully wrapped his arms around Ben, making him feel safe.

Ben tried to talk while he sobbed, which proved to be useless. "I-I … m-m-my p-par-parents …"

"Shh." Rook hushed Ben; putting one hand on the back of Ben's head, holding him to his chest. Ben continued to sob and cling to Rook.

Rook bent his head down and pressed his lips on Ben's forehead, trying his best to comfort his partner. In response, Ben laid the side of his head on Rook's chest, trying to breathe steadily. Rook kept his lips to Ben's forehead, ruffling Ben's hair with his breathing.

Ben felt sudden comfort being in Rook's arms, steady breathing, and steady heart beat. Ben just closed his eyes, the last of the tears rolling down his cheeks. Ben tried to breathe steady, but it just didn't seem to come easy. However, Ben didn't feel rushed. Rook wasn't expecting an explanation, and he held Ben in a warm embrace, so Ben seemed to drift off. Soon, without him really knowing, Ben was breathing steadily once again and he had stopped sobbing.

Rook pulled away his lips from Ben's forehead as he ran his fingers through Ben's thick hair. "It will be alright." Rook whispered.

"No." Ben muttered, raising his head to look at Rook. "It won't be 'alright', Rook."

Rook stared sadly at Ben. "What is it that is bothering you, Ben?"

Ben laid his head back on Rook's chest. "My parents. They don't understand, Rook. They don't approve, and think it's wrong."

Rook just sighed painfully, listening to Ben's words. He nodded.

"I can handle rumors, Rook, but they get around. And … and people start to think differently of me. I'm supposed to be Ben Tennyson, protector of the universe. Now …"

Ben sniffled back another sob. He was so stressed and upset he was beginning to shake. Rook did his best to kept Ben calm.

After a long silence, Rook spoke up. "Well, what do you think?"

"W-what?" Ben sniffled.

"People think of you in different ways, but what do YOU think?" Rook whispered.

Ben thought for a moment. Rook did have a point. People may have been judging him, but he hadn't stopped to think about his own point of view.

"What do YOU want?" Rook added.

Ben thought, but couldn't think of anything else than what was really on his mind. "I want to be with you."

Rook gave a weak grin as he leaned down to plant another soft kiss on Ben's forehead. "I wish for the same."

Ben pulled his arms away from Rook's sides and placed them on his chest. "Rook … I'm sorry."

"For what?" Rook asked, even though he knew.

"For pushing you away …" Ben wheezed out.

"Ben, don't apologize. I was equally as stupid as you." Rook pointed out.

Ben looked in Rook's golden eyes. "But I was being a jerk, an idiot. I cared too much about other people's opinions …"

Rook thought for a moment. "Ben, if you were ignoring me, why did you come here?"

Ben just continued to stare into Rook's eyes, the words seeming to get stuck in his throat. Finally, he opened up. "I … I couldn't help myself. I couldn't stay away because … I love you."

Rook gave a tired smile as he cupped his hands on the side of Ben's jaw. He leaned in to where their lips were almost touching. "I love you, too, Ben Tennyson."

Ben took in a sharp breath before Rook pulled him into a passionate kiss. Ben wrapped his arms around behind Rook's head. Rook straightened up a little more before he repositioned himself to where Ben could crawl onto Rook's lap. As they kissed more deeply, Rook moved his hands from Ben's face to Ben's hips.

Once they both realized they needed to breathe, they parted from the kiss, swallowing from any extra saliva. Ben moved his head down to Rook's neck, pressing his lips to his lover's neck.

'Time for some payback.' Ben thought with a sly grin.

Ben went from a light kiss to sucking on the skin/fur. Ben had learned long ago that Rook's 'fur' was really just a light layer of hair. Rook had once explained to Ben that his pelt was similar to humans. Ben was confused by this, but soon figured out that humans all had hair, almost fuzz. Rook's layer of fur was so thin that when he felt Rook's skin surface, it was like there wasn't any hair there at all. He didn't even notice that Rook had a light pelt, or fur at all for that matter. Ben secretly considered Rook's 'fur' as fluff. Seemed legit.

As Ben sucked more, Rook tensed. When Ben moved to a different spot, he found the soft spot once he heard Rook release a low gasp. Ben pulled away for a split second, grinning wickedly. Once he took in a breath, Ben went back to sucking on the tender spot. Doing so got another gasp from Rook, this time more high pitched.

Rook moved his hands from Ben's hips to running them under Ben's shirt. As he ran his hands along Ben's bare back, Ben shivered with delight. As he continued to move his hands up and down Ben's back, Ben lifted himself to sit on Rook's waist. Rook lightly groaned from having their hips rubbing against each other.

Ben playfully rubbed his teeth against the violet colored flesh as he sucked.

"B-Ben …" Rook gasped, pulling his hands away from Ben's back.

Once Ben realized what Rook was trying to do, Ben stopped sucking and slipped back so he was in Rook's lap rather than on his waist. Ben hadn't wanted to stop, but he knew what Rook was trying to do was right. Although Ben had lusted to go further, he knew as well as Rook that the time and place weren't right. They had already made that mistake the first time they had done it. Ben admitted that doing so all night was a mistake, as well as doing so on the couch instead of a bed. Rook was just simply trying to make sure that their next time wasn't rushed or done wrong. After all, they were currently on the floor.

Ben slipped off Rook's lap, allowing his partner to stand up. He offered Ben a hand, which in return was accepted as Ben was pulled to his feet. The two made their way to the couch, where they fell into another heap. After a long and tiring day, Ben realized he felt tired as he touched the soft couch. Rook had a similar reaction as he gave a small yawn. The lights were already off, but the blinds let in bright light. The day was already beginning to dim as it turned to sunset.

Rook didn't bother to close the blinds. He just pulled off his armor and under garments, lying back on his couch. Ben did the same, pulling off his clothes to where he was just in his underwear. Both lied on the soft couch. Rook reached over to the side of the couch where the blanket was draped over. He then pulled it over him and Ben.

Once under the warm blankets, Ben snuggled up next to Rook's torso, feeling extremely tired now. Rook wrapped his free arm around Ben's side. Ben, in return, nuzzled against Rook's neck. Rook just smiled and slightly purred, knowing that Ben found it amusing whenever Rook purred.

Ben smiled as he fell asleep with Rook's body warmth and soft purring.

* * *

The next few days were interesting.

Plumbers seemed to stop talking about the pair behind their back and continued with work as usually. At first, they seemed to avoid the two at all times, but as time went by of the two being together, people got used to it. Sure, some people didn't agree with it, but it wasn't their choice to make. Things had gotten to the point where people just went about as if it didn't matter.

Ben had wanted to keep his relationship with Rook low key, but he couldn't help himself from flirting or being passionate with Rook every now and again. Every now and again they would brush up against each other or give quick pecks. Once, during another boring lecture in the conference room, Ben and Rook had sat next to each other. Ben tried not to look bored, but he couldn't help it. When he looked over at Rook, he seemed so concentrated, but Ben knew that Rook often spaced out.

At one point during the lecture, Ben's leg had brushed against Rook's. Ben he expected Rook to retract on instinct, but they just remained the way they were. At another point, Rook had crossed his leg with Ben's. They both seemed to be smiling. No one knew what was making the two so happy, but no one really wanted to know. Never had the pair held hands, but there they were, holding legs under the table.

However, Ben and Rook were much warmer with each other when they were alone. It had become a habit for Ben to always be at Rook's apartment. It had gotten to the point where Ben was almost basically living with Rook. Half of the things that were once in Ben's apartment were now in Rook's. Rook didn't seem to mind this at all. He in fact would rather to have had Ben at his apartment all the time instead of just short visits. Ben and Rook both knew that even if Ben was always at Rook's apartment, he didn't truly live there. Both didn't think that they had a strong enough relationship to move in together.

During the time they spent together, they would often laugh and snuggle together. If they got bored of this, they would sometimes take another trip to Mr. Smoothies or take a drive around town. Now a day, there hadn't been that many alien problems to deal with. The alien-crabs hadn't made an appearance in weeks, but yet other Plumbers continued to investigate the situation.

Every night, the two could curl up under the sheets of Rook's bed and sleep together. However, never once for the days that Ben had been at Rook's apartment did they ever truly get physical. Like before, they had wanted to wait for the right moment and the right place.

That night, though, things turned from wonderful to ugly. It had been in the middle of the night, and both lovers were sleeping soundly in Rook's bed. Suddenly, Ben released a shrill cry as he suddenly sat up in bed. Ben sat up in the bed, breathing heavily, his face wet with tears he had cried in his sleep. Ben tried to stay calm, but he couldn't.

Rook began to shift around next to Ben, until he sat up as well, hearing the cry. "Ben, what is wrong?"

Ben breathed in deep breaths, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "I … It was nothing."

Rook looked through the darkness at his lover, worried. "Was it a nightmare?"

Ben just breathed in another sharp breath as he nodded. "Yeah. Just … just a nightmare."

Although it was dark, Rook could see the shimmer of tears that continued to flow down Ben's face. He reached over and pulled Ben into an embrace. Ben wrapped his hands around Rook and buried his face in Rook's night shirt. Although Ben knew it was only a dream, he couldn't stop the tears from flowing. The dream had felt so real.

"What was the dream about?" Rook whispered.

Ben sniffled a sigh. "It … I dreamt that you left."

Rook paused. "Left?"

Ben opened his mouth to answer, but instead another silent sob escaped his lips. Rook ran his fingers through Ben's locks, trying to calm his lover.

"Where would I have gone?" Rook muttered.

"You didn't GO anywhere." Ben whispered. "You just …"

Rook nodded, understanding. He then pressing his lips to Ben's head. "It was only a dream, Ben. My time hasn't come, yet."

"Yet …" Ben echoed.

Rook sighed painfully. He knew he promised Ben that he would stay with him, but in some cases he couldn't promise anything. He couldn't control when his time came. It would just happen. However, Rook was young and healthy. He shouldn't have to worry about that for a long time.

Ben just nuzzled his face into Rook's neck, breathing in the sweet scent of Rook. Eventually, Ben's breathing steadied as he drifted off into another uneasy sleep. The two had sat up together on the bed for another few minutes before Rook lied down, holding Ben in his arms. For the rest of the night, Ben remained wrapped in Rook's embrace. Every now and again, he would have to open his eyes to make sure that Rook was still there, and his dream hadn't come true.

Even as Ben would drift back into sleep, he would always have the uneasy feeling that something bad was about to happen. Ben just prayed that his Rook wouldn't leave him, and that his dream simply meant nothing.

* * *

_Okay, so people know, Ben's apartment has an extra room that he uses for a bedroom, plus a small bathroom. Rook's apartment is different. It is a little smaller and cozier. There is only one giant room he uses for everything (including his bed), plus a small bathroom._

_The next chapter is going to be the turning point of this story. Sorry, but there are more sad moments to come._

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS))_


	14. Chapter 13

**WARNING: This chapter contains nudity and sexual themes.**

Chapter 13 -

The beginning of the next day seemed happy enough.

Ben had woken up to Rook's soft purring. Ben had just grinned and nuzzled up to Rook, waiting for his lover to wake up. Later, Rook had stopped purring, but lied in bed for a couple minutes longer, trying to fully wake up. When he finally got up, it had taken him only moments to get ready. Ben had taken longer, but Rook was content with waiting for his lover.

Once Ben had finally gotten ready for another day of work, Rook was already in the truck, warming it up. The winter that year was brutal. This was only Rook's second winter, but he knew all too well that he shouldn't leave his truck running without him inside. Rook's truck was worth too much for someone to steal it. So, Rook waited in his truck until Ben arrived.

After arriving at HQ, Ben and Rook were greeted by Max. Things had been on tension for the past few days from Ben's sudden outburst, but Grandpa Max seemed to be cool with the situation now. He hadn't talked to Ben about the situation, but he didn't act any differently towards Ben than he would normally, so Ben was glad that his grandpa accepted it. When they got there, Max had told them he needed to tell them something important. Seeing that he was very serious, Rook and Ben were silent, waiting for Max to tell them the news.

Max took in a deep breath. "This is very important, so listen carefully."

Rook and Ben both nodded.

"Alright." Max agreed before continuing. "Starting today, there are going to be some scouts hanging around HQ."

"Scouts?" Ben muttered.

Max continued. "They are scouts for the VA."

"What's the VA?" Ben asked.

"VA stands for Volunteered Army." Max answered. "At the beginning of each year Plumbers can sign up to be a pending volunteer for an army. If there is major war coming, maybe between different planets, then volunteers will be recruited for the war. Scouts will come and find Plumbers that they think would be suitable for war, and make sure that they have agreed from the beginning of the year to be a volunteer for the any kind of army."

"So … you could basically sign up to serve and there's the possibility that you would be put in some random army for some random war?" Ben pondered.

"Well, not just any random army. When you sign up, you can choose which army would would like to join." Max said, placing a hand on his chin, thinking.

"Are these scouts looking for one specific army?" Ben asked.

Max nodded. "Yes."

"Why would you volunteer to be in war?" Ben asked, thinking the idea was stupid.

"Ben," Max muttered. "Plumbers always serve the people that need it the most. But, if you sign up, you set a bonus of another thousand dollars at the beginning of the year. Sounds like a good deal, considering the chances of being called to duty is low. The chances get even lower when you can only be recruited for that specific army you signed up for."

"Wait," Ben said, wanting to be confirmed. "So, there is a low chance, almost no chance at all, that you could get called to war, but just for signing up, you get a thousand dollar bonus. And WHY haven't I ever heard about this?"

Rook and Max glanced at each other, worried.

"Earth would rather you stay." Rook answered for Max.

Ben was about to say something, but he then understood. Even if the chances of him getting called were close to none, people of earth wanted him to stay.

"You got the message that was sent out a couple days ago, right?" Max said, turning to Rook.

Rook glanced at his worried boyfriend for a split second before turning back to Max. "Yes, I did."

Max sighed heavily, placing a hand on Rook's shoulder. "Good luck."

With that, Rook nodded as Max turned and left. When Rook looked back at Ben, his lover looking worried and confused.

"What message?" Ben asked, staring into Rook's golden eyes. When Rook hesitated, Ben asked another question. "Is it about the war?"

Rook just nodded.

Ben's heart seemed to skip a beat. He suddenly became frightened. He was about to say something when Rook's Plumber badge vibrated. When Rook pulled it out and answered it, he seemed to be completely unaware of Ben's unease. Rook had only been listening to his badge for a few moments, then he agreed to something before he put the badge back where it came from. He then looked at Ben, as if nothing had happened.

"We are wanted in one of the fusion rooms." Rook said before turning.

Ben's breath was shaky as he instantly reached over and grabbed Rook's hand with both of his own. He pulled Rook to turn back around and face Ben. Rook did his best to look brave, for Ben.

"Rook ..." Ben whispered. "Have you been … called?"

Rook placed his free hand on one of Ben's hands, so he was holding both Ben's hands in both his own. He looked lovingly at Ben. "No."

"Why did Grandpa Max wish you good luck?" Ben whispered, choked up.

"The scouts are searching for recruits for the army I signed up for."

* * *

Ben had willed himself not to cry. Why should he? Grandpa Max said it himself, there was hardly the slightest chance that Rook would be scouted and called to war. Why should he be so worried? However, Ben still couldn't shake his uneasy feeling. Ben could still remember clearly about his dream the night before. Rook had … 'left'. War was one of the worst ways to go, even if he was serving. That made Ben angry. Why would Rook go off to serve an army that he hardly knew about? Sure, he got a thousand dollars out of signing up up, but …

Ben's thoughts were interrupted when Rook's voice rang out. "Ben, could you pass the wrench?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." Ben said once he snapped out of his funk. He then reached over and handed Rook the wrench.

Rook then finished twisting a bolt and placed the wrench down. "What's wrong, Ben?"

Ben looked away. "Nothing."

Rook gave a worried expression before he reached over and placed his hand on top of Ben's. "You can tell me."

Ben sighed. That was true. He could tell Rook anything and not be laughed at. "I'm … just worried."

"Worried?" Rook pondered. "You mean about the scouts? Ben, there are only half a dozen and they'll be here only for a couple weeks."

Ben had wanted to say something, but he just released a pained sigh. Seeing that his partner was hurting, Rook squeezed Ben's hand, bringing him comfort. Truth was, no matter how Rook sugar coated it, he was afraid, too.

It was then that Ben made a plan. No matter what, he had to make sure that he kept Rook away from the scouts. Perhaps Ben shouldn't have been so worried, but he had to face the facts. Rook had progressed to the point where he was well known by other Plumbers and was trained to his peek. If a scout saw him, then they would for sure want Rook in the army.

Ben had just wanted his Rook to be safe in Bellwood, and not endangered on an unknown planet.

* * *

For the rest of the day, anxiety seemed to be eating away at Ben. At any corner could be a scout. Ben seemed to cling to Rook the whole day, trying to keep him away from any peeping eyes, but Ben wasn't the only one on edge. It seemed that other Plumbers that signed up for the army were uneasy. After all, what did the scouts look like? Ben wasn't sure how to keep Rook away from something he didn't know.

However, by the end of the day, Ben was horrified. He now knew what the scouts looked like. When Rook was in another room, Ben waited outside the door in a hallway. To is horror, a scout walked through the hallway and passed Ben. The scout turned to Ben, thinking, and then turned and left. Ben later learned that all the scouts looked the same. Each were tall with navy blue clothing and a pin on their jackets, meaning they were part of the army. Ben had expected them to try to blend in more, but they wore their clothing and pins proudly as they scanned all the areas they patrolled.

Many have given Ben looks, but Ben knew that he hadn't signed up for anything, so he wouldn't be going anywhere. It was Rook Ben was extremely worried about. Ben had been sticking around Rook more than normal. Rook showed no signs of being skeptical, because being around Ben made him happy anyway.

After work, when both were in Rook's truck, was the only time that Ben really could let out a breath, relaxing. Seeing his boyfriend's unease, Rook hesitated with turning on the engine. "Is something wrong, Ben?"

"It's like I said before." Ben muttered, lying his head on the back of the seat. Never before had he been so concentrated and stressed at the same time. His head was already beginning to hurt from all the strain.

"Ben, what can I say or do to make you less worried?" Rook said while starting up the truck's engine.

Ben thought for a moment. "Stay with me."

* * *

Ben had stayed at Rook's apartment, again, that night. On the way, they had picked up some food from Mr. Smoothies. They had gotten some smoothies, burgers, and chili cheese fries (even though Rook wasn't too fond of them). For the remainder of the day, they ate while watching TV and snuggling. After a few more hours, they were both full and tired as they sat on the couch, watching some TV in the dark.

Ben yawned and leaned his head on Rook's shoulder. "Hmm ..."

"Feel better?" Rook asked.

"Yes." Ben whispered back.

Rook then purred so warmly that Ben felt happy, being tempted. Rook pulled Ben onto his lap, holding Ben close and purring. Ben felt so pleased that he thought that he would start purring, too. Ben then wrapped his arms around Rook, scooting onto Rook's lap so their bodies were closely pressed together and Ben's head rested on Rook's shoulder. Rook's purring seemed to vibrate through Ben, giving him energy. Ben shivered with excitement as Rook brushed his lips beside Ben's ear. Suddenly, Rook seemed to be tempting Ben. If he was meaning to, Rook was achieving in subduing Ben.

"Hmm ..." Ben hummed, holding tighter to Rook. He then brushed his lips against Rook's neck. He just breathed lightly on Rook's skin, making Rook get goose bumps. "I love you ..."

"And I love you." Rook whispered back.

Ben pulled back a little so he was facing Rook. They gazed into each others eyes for a few moments, but they both leaned in to seal their lips with a kiss. Both instantly parted their lips, allowing their tongues to mash together. Ben always tingled with excitement from the sensation of his tongue rubbing against Rook's forked one. They did so for another minute, but pulled away for a split second to breath and swallow, and then went back to kissing.

Rook ran his fingers through Ben's shaggy hair, slightly grunting from Ben scooting up his waist. Once Rook flicked his tongue under Ben's, Ben had to hold back a squeal of delight, but he did slightly pull away from the kiss. He just grinned happily and nuzzled his forehead against Rook's.

Rook leaned in to Ben's ear, whispering. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Ben got chills. Rook was being extremely tempting. Ben just chuckled. "Yeah. I'm sure."

"And you're sure there's NOTHING I can do to make you feel better?" Rook whispered in a tender voice.

Ben slightly blushed, seeing where Rook was coming at. He lied his head back on Rook's shoulder, whispering in the same tender way. "Only one thing."

"Anything." Rook promised.

Ben grinned slyly. "Bite me."

Rook began to purr, again, but this time more fierce and tender. He held Ben tightly as he lifted his lover up onto his waist, carrying Ben was he walked to the bed on the other side of the room. Ben's legs were wrapped around Rook's waist and his arms over Rook's shoulders when Rook fell onto the bed, on top of Ben. Ben unwrapped himself as he lied flat on the bed, letting Rook work his magic.

Rook then easily pulled Ben's shirt free, tossing it off the bed. He then bent over while he placed both his warm hands on Ben's cold chest. Ben shuttered, but got used to the warmth. Ben was met by Rook's lips on his neck. At first, it was just light kissing, but it quickly turned into sucking. His skin being sucked hurt to Ben, but in the good way. As Rook rubbed his teeth on the skin playfully, Ben released a high pitched sigh. From this, Rook moved higher on his lover's neck, knowing where the sweet spot was. Once he hit it, Ben let out a shrill cry.

Slowly, Rook moved his hands down Ben's chest, making his lover shutter more. Eventually, his hands made it down to Ben's waist line. As Rook continued to suck on Ben's neck, he slowly slid down Ben's pants. Once Rook's hands reached down to Ben's lower waist, his lover let out another sigh. Soon enough, Rook had fully pulled off Ben's pants.

Suddenly, Rook became nervous. He knew what he had wanted to do, but he had never done it before and wasn't sure how Ben would react. However, for the two years Rook had known Ben, Rook knew that if anything, Ben liked things rough. Rook wasn't sure if the theory applied to the current situation, but he hoped it had. From the looks of it, Ben was prepared for something special. All Rook wanted to do was make Ben happy, and give him pleasure.

"Are you sure …?" Rook asked, one last time.

Ben gave a slight nod.

Nodding back, Rook repositioned himself so he was hovering above Ben's torso. Ben scooted back so that he could sit up. Rook hesitated for a moment, but he then reached over and softly placed his hand on top of Ben's. At first, Ben didn't understand where Rook was coming at, but he allowed Rook to guide Ben's hand on top of Ben's stomach. Ben suddenly felt himself shutter from his own touch.

Slowly, Rook moved Ben's hand down to the edge of his underwear. Before Ben knew it, his own hand was slipping down under the lining of his underwear. Rook continued to guide Ben's hand deeper down until Ben gave a small whine, telling Rook that he had hit his destination. Ben shifted around so his side was pressed against Rook's front, so that way the action would be easier. He leaned his head on Rook's shoulder, squinting his eyes shut.

Rook firmly gripped the back of Ben's hand before he continued. Taking in a sharp breath, Rook pumped Ben's hand over his erection. Ben took in a low gasp, shuttering from his own touch. He took in another sharp breath as Rook continued to pump both their hands over Ben's spent cock. Eventually, Rook had let loose of Ben's hand. Ben hadn't really noticed it until he noticed that his own hand had slipped out of his underwear and was now resting on the beds sheets. Only Rook's hand was left to the action.

Ben took in short gasps from Rook continuing the action. Soon, Rook had doubled his pace. Ben's face was buried in Rook's shoulder as he tried to keep his breathing steady. Rook pumped his hand down further until he had grabbed hold and squeezed Ben's groin. From the sudden roughness, Ben gave out a shrill cry, but didn't tell Rook to stop. Ben shifted around a little and instinctively thrust his hips forwards, pressing himself against Rook's warm hand. Suddenly, Rook fastened his pace, spreading out his fingers.

"R-Rook, slow down or I'm going – ahh!" Ben cried.

Ben gritted his teeth as he tried to ride out his orgasm. Rook's warm hand was met by white goo. Giving one last tug on Ben's cock, Rook pulled his hand away and inspected the white substance on his hand. Ben watched out of the corner of his eye, panting. Before Ben could stop his boyfriend, Rook had snaked his forked tongue along the side of one of his fingers. The sight was sickening, yet hot.

"Hm." Rook hummed. "Not as bad as I thought it would be."

Ben had been resting his head on Rook's shoulder, but when his lover began to shift around, Ben allowed himself to fall over onto the bed sheets, already feeling tired. He took in deep breaths, trying to regain his strength as Rook continued to shift around. Ben had closed his eyes, feeling like he needed a moment to rest. He could hear Rook shuffling around. From the sound of it, Rook was tearing off his Proto-Tech suit, maybe cleaning off hand part of his suit.

When Ben opened his eyes again, he couldn't help but staring at Rook's body. He was in nothing but his boxers as he lied on the bed beside Ben. Ben had seen Rook's body about ever night when they would strip down to their underwear and cuddle each other as they fell asleep. Now, Ben snuggled up to Rook, sharing his body warmth. Rook must have known Ben was tired, so he just held his bright eyed lover close to his body, letting Ben rest before they continued.

Once Ben had regained some of his strength, he nuzzled up against Rook's neck, breathing is shuttered breaths, giving Rook chills. Rook had then pressed his lips to Ben's forehead, breathing in Ben's warm scent. For some reason, Ben had always done so to Rook, but Rook wasn't sure what Ben had liked so much about doing so. Rook had wondered if he smelled good to Ben, or if this was one of the young man's favorite ways of showing affection. Either way, Rook always found pleasure when Ben did it to him, so he seemed to be returning the favor.

Ben just grinned with pure joy. He raised his lips to his lover's pointed ear, brushing his lips against the skin. In return, Rook had given a small purr. They both laid in their current positions, catching their breaths.

"I love you ..." Ben had whispered in his lover's ear.

Rook gave one last purr. "I love you, Ben Tennyson."

Turning himself over, Rook hovered over Ben, staring into his toxic green eyes, whispering. "Ready?"

Ben hesitated at first, but nodded.

* * *

As Rook took yet another plunge, Ben released another cry. "R-Rook!"

Ben's legs were wrapped around Rook's sides, letting Rook continue his actions. As they worked on each others bodies, the bed squeaked to the tune of their movements. Rook's hands were both on Ben's hips, pulling him forward into every thrust. As both moaned and gasped, Ben desperately grabbed at the sheets that covered Rook's bed. There was but a thin blanket on top of the two, covering them.

"Rook!" Ben moaned.

"Ben ..." Rook panted.

Ben had been gasping and moaning Rook's name a few times now, making Rook feel even more excited. He had then tried saying Ben's name, which seemed to not only make Rook feel more excited, but also his lover. He found it strange how just saying a simple name could make his pleasure grow.

As they both got into it, Rook and Ben's bodies had worked together to a steady rhythm. This time around things were already different. When they had tried it for the first time, both had no experience and seemed to have short rounds, not really lasting. Now, they were still on their first round, but it had lasted for almost ten minutes. This was much longer than before. Both lovers figured out that the longer the round was, the more pleasure they got out of it.

"Again ..." Ben panted. "Say it! Say my name!"

"Ben … Benjamin." Rook gasped out.

Just like before, Rook had taken the pace a little too fast, making Ben gasp and moan. "R-Rook! Slow down – ugh!"

As Rook's hands gripped tighter around Ben's hips, he could feel Ben's manhood swelling. Wanting to savor the moment, Rook began to slightly slow down. Although Ben's cock continued to swell, he lowered his gasping, taking in deep breaths as Rook continued his movements. Ben lied his head back on the bed and closed his eyes, trying to breathe steady to the sound of the squeaking bed. His body felt as if he was jolting with energy about to explode at any moment. He could feel and hear his own heart beating out of control. Although he had closed his eyes, Ben knew that his vision was dilated. He had just wanted to last a little longer …

Suddenly, Rook quickened his pace much faster than before. Once Ben felt his body moving quicker and his pleasure growing to it's peek, Ben's eyes snapped open. Just when he felt that he would release what he had been holding in, Rook moved one of his hands away from Ben's waist and moved it to the center. Feeling Rook's hand on Ben's manhood was pleasure enough, but Ben simply couldn't hold it in any longer once Rook began pumping his fist on Ben's erection area.

"R-R-Rook …!" Ben gasped before he couldn't contain himself any more. "Gah!"

Ben threw his head back down on the bed, biting his lower lip. Even as he rode out his orgasm, Rook continued to push himself forward and pump his fist over Ben. As Ben let out a shrill cry, Rook began to breathe heavily, continuing his movements. It was hard to fight back his hormones and keep up with the steady thrusts at the same time. Rook soon placed his other hand over his other, feeling the white substance seeping through his fingers. Suddenly, feeling himself cumming, Rook did one last thrust into Ben. His hands, out of impulse, gripped tightly at Ben's cock, causing Ben to moan loudly from his manhood being gripped tightly and the substance being shot into him.

Rook moaned and breathed heavily, while his lover panted and released shrilled cries. Once the onslaught was finished, Rook partly pulled out and released his grip on Ben. Both panted heavily, trying to catch their breaths. Once Rook had regained some air, he fully pulled out of Ben and moved his hands away. Seeing that he had made a mess, Rook wiped his hands on the sheet below the two. Once he had done so, he carefully wiped his boyfriend clean and pulled the sheet from under Ben. He waded the white sheet up, lifted a part of the sheet that covered them, and threw the waded sheet to the ground, planning on cleaning it later.

When Rook recovered him and his lover, he looked towards Ben, who was still lying on his back and gazing upwards in a daze. His pale skin was red and warm to the touch. Rook realized this his own body was heated, as well. Feeling suddenly tired, Rook fell to his side and crawled up beside his lover. Once Rook settled next to his boyfriend, Ben snuggled up against Rook, lying his hand on his lover's shoulder.

"I love you." Ben whispered before he dozed off, not hearing his boyfriend's response, but feeling his warm purrs.

* * *

_This chapter contains M rated mature content._

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS))_


	15. Chapter 14

**WARNING: This chapter contains nudity.**

Chapter 14 -

When Ben woke up, he was wrapped in Rook's arms, surrounded by warm sheets. His head leaned on Rook's solid shoulder. Once time passed, Rook had eventually woken up, as well. Still half asleep, Rook had turned his head next to Ben's. He gazed at Ben with golden-yellow eyes. When Ben raised his hand and traced his finger tips along his lover's jaw line, Rook gave a small purr of delight.

Sunlight streamed through the partly closed curtains, brightening up the small apartment. Both lovers were wrapped in thick, warm blankets, wearing nothing. Ben felt as if he could stay in Rook's strong arms and the warm sheets forever. However, Rook knew that they had to get ready if they were to get to HQ in time. After a while of cuddling under the sheets, Rook began to shift around, making Ben release a disappointed sigh.

Rook had left the sheets and walked towards the small bathroom. After Ben had gathered enough strength, he rolled out of bed, feeling tired due to the early morning chills. Once he walked over to the bathroom door, he found it was slightly ajar, and the shower was running. Deciding that he needed a shower, and to get warm, Ben had let himself in. Not just into the bathroom, but also into the shower with Rook. Rook had used colder water than Ben was used to, but he felt warm enough just washing and being washed by his lover. After the previous night, they were both in need of a shower.

Once they were both clean and had dressed themselves, they had left Rook's apartment and made it to Rook's truck. When they got outside, Rook had given a small smile. There had already been snow falls before that winter, but none were as beautiful was the one they were greeted with. The snow flakes fell steadily to the ground, but there were so many that Rook and Ben couldn't help being in awe, especially Rook. Although he had been on earth a year ago, seeing the winter, he had enjoyed the seasons nevertheless.

Ben was dressed as normal, but wore a thicker hoodie to keep him extra warm. Rook wore his normal attire of his black and blue Proto-Suit. For some odd reason to Ben, Rook seemed to hardly be affected by cold weather. However, he seemed to hardly tolerate hot weather. Winter seemed to be a better season to him than summer.

As they both got into the truck, Rook began to warm it up, leaning back in his seat. Ben did the same, releasing a small yawn. As both waited for the truck to warm up some, there was an awkward silence that filled the empty space. Finally, Ben broke the silence.

"They're only here for a week, right?" Ben asked.

"The scouts? Yes." Rook answered.

Ben just gave a small sigh. "Aright."

* * *

Once the two were on their way to work was when the 'drama' had happened.

Although Ben and Rook hardly ever showed affection openly, many Plumbers knew of their secret relationship. However, Plumbers knowing something was completely different then the public knowing. Plumbers were usually good at keeping secrets. Usually.

And although Ben had never wanted to really think about it, he knew that his and Rook's relationship was bound to get out to the public. It had that day, anyway.

On their way to work that day, people that they had passed would often point at them or start giggling. Both were confused by this, until Ben made Rook pull over by the side-walk so she could see a news stand. Digging a quarter out if his pocket, Ben quickly ran over and bought himself a newspaper. He waited until he was back inside Rook's truck to read the front page.

When he had, Ben thought that he had stopped breathing. He often made the cover page, sometimes with Rook, but this time around was different. If Rook was ever in the newspaper with Ben, it was some journalist describing the 'wonders' of Ben having a new partner. Rook had once even gotten in the newspaper with Ben because a journalist had wanted to describe the 'mysterious' behavior of this strange alien.

This time it wasn't about Rook being Ben's new partner (it had been two years, so why would it?), the mysteries of Rook, or just Ben being the hero. Both him and Rook were on the front page, but not in the way Ben had ever wanted.

Rook leaned over his seat to see what Ben had seen, and froze.

'Partners, Or Something More?'

Below the headline was an ordinary picture of Ben and Rook. However, this one looked a little different. Ben and Rook were standing side by side, but they seemed closer to each other than in normal pictures. Both their hands seemed to almost brush up against each other, while they both looked at each other with a warm gaze.

Seeing the date, the photo had been taken recently. Around a few days ago.

After Ben had read the article himself, he handed it to Rook, expressionless. Rook had shot Ben a skeptical look, but then turned to the article himself.

'The great hero, Ben Tennyson, has had a partner for about two years now. We soon figured out his name to be Rook Blonko, some kind of alien who had settled on earth. At first, the public looked upon these two as noobie partners, but no longer. Not only have they been partners for two years, but they have been getting more closer as time goes by. The photo taken is just one of many of it's kind. Not only do we have rumors to get people pumped, but we have photos to prove it. What does the future hold for these two partners? When will they come out of hiding as more than 'just partners'?'

Rook had stared at the paper for what he thought was forever. Finally, he had placed it on the dashboard and sighed heavily. He just turned his truck into drive and drove away from where they were parked. The entire ride to HQ had been silent.

* * *

When they had gotten to HQ, Plumbers gave them looks of suspicion, and some pity. Ben had always hated it when the media would twist something, but they had simply gone too far this time. Just about everything they had said was true, though, making Ben feel even more angry. True, the truth was the truth, but he was just simply not ready to admit to the public that his partner was his boyfriend.

Rook, on the other hand, didn't seem too worried about the situation. He had in fact had rather the public make an article that was true, rather than false. Plus, it was just another way that Rook could start showing affection towards Ben in the open. True, it was a selfish thought, but he loved Ben. Rook had believed that if he loved someone, he should be able to kiss them and hold hands in public, rather than always in private.

Although Ben wanted people to think differently, he hadn't left Rook's side the whole day. He couldn't just ignore Rook because of something stupid like the tabloid. And although normally Ben would had been skittish the whole day, being his self conscious self, he was able to loosen up around Rook. Being around Rook made him feel strong, like nothing would get to him.

Later that day, when Rook and Ben had been walking through one of the platforms, a group of Plumbers had been giving them glances, giggling. Ben's heart lurched at the sight, but suddenly, a warm hand intertwined with his own. Instead of pulling away, Ben squeezed Rook's hand firmly. Once the group saw, they stopped giggling and just looked away.

Now Ben understood. They would talk about something until it was proven wrong or right. Rumors would be just rumors, but they couldn't gossip about it when they saw it right in front of them. Let them talk, Ben thought. He loved Rook, and didn't want to hide it.

* * *

As the next few days went by, the scouts continued to eye Rook, but Ben would make sure to block their view by holding Rook's hand or just pulling him away. Although Ben still stressed about the scouts recruiting Rook, he found comfort just being with his boyfriend.

One day, a brave noobie Plumber had approached Ben when Rook was off in the distance. Another group of Plumbers had watched her approach Ben, letting Ben know that they wanted to know something.

The alien Plumber that had approached him looked almost human, but there were spots of purple here and there on her skin and her hair was tied back into a bun, but her hair looked more like a part of her skin.

"Mr. Tennyson?" she asked in a small, cute voice. "Are you and Rook dating?"

Ben froze from the question, but once he glanced over at Rook in the distance, he just smiled, turning back to the small Plumber. "Yes."

He had expected her to walk away, or be disgusted, but she had just smiled warmly. "That's so cute!"

* * *

Rook and Ben had spent every day for almost a week just being together at all times in HQ and going back to Rook's apartment. People thought that being together so much would make the two get bored of each other, but the truth was that they never got bored. They had always laughed and shared moments together.

Everything seemed perfect, until the end of the week.

Rook and Ben had been sparing, which Ben seemed to slowly be getting better at. Rook seemed to be the master at it. Over the two years, he had only gotten better and better, even if others thought it was impossible. Once Ben had gotten tired, he had stepped out to the side with the other Plumbers who were resting. Grandpa Max had been there, too, seeing the other's progress.

Once Ben sat down to rest, a group of new Plumbers walked into the trained area. Being on the outside, Ben wondered what they were doing, but then he understood. This often happened with Rook. There would be a group of cocky Plumbers who thought that if they ganged up on Rook, they could beat him, but that had never happened. At least not yet.

Some other people had walked into the resting area, but Ben's attention was glued onto his boyfriend. Although Ben knew that Rook could easily take down a group of noobies, he couldn't help but being worried. Grandpa Max, who was behind Ben, had started whispering to someone, but Ben didn't care enough to look who it was.

Sparing just came naturally to Rook. So, when the challenging group had entered the training area, Rook had just grinned slightly. It was a wonder that he wasn't tired out, yet.

Once the count down had began, the buzzer went off, telling the Plumbers to begin. Just as it had buzzed, the challenging Plumbers had spread out, having a plan ready. However, like any other time to Rook, the plans went HIS way, rather than theirs.

When a couple Plumbers had tried a sneak attack on Rook, he had just simply fought them off, lightly shoving them off. The rest of the group had attacked, then, seeing that they could take him down, but things hadn't gone that way.

Rook seemed to slide and move around the training area as he took them down one by one. Rook made it seem so easy. Many others had only wished they could fight like Rook. Once the count down had ended, all the challenging Plumbers were either on the ground of had surrendered. Being a gracious winner like usual, Rook had helped pick some of them up.

"Wonder why those Plumbers wanted to all fight Rook at once." Grandpa Max mused.

"We sent them to." the person that had been whispering to Max earlier said.

Confused, Ben turned around to see who had sent them to spar with Rook. Ben took in a sharp breath. Right next to Max were three scouts.

The one that was the smallest turned to Max. "We've had our eyes on that one for a while. We just wanted to see what he could REALLY do."

No, no, no. This wasn't happening. No, no, no ...

The tallest of the group, the one that seemed to have the most authority, turned to Max and hissed in his ear. "I WANT that solider."

The second he had hissed out the words, Max looked at Ben with a mixture of pity and sorrow.

Ben thought he was about to pass out. No, no, no ...

"Hey, look!" one of the resting Plumbers said aloud, pointing towards Rook.

Ben turned back around to see what the Plumber had meant. Rook, who was about to leave the training area, was met by a couple of scouts. One was explaining something to Rook while the other held out what looked like a contract. Ben knew what that meant.

No, no, no.

Rook's expression was still, as if he knew Ben was watching and just wanted to look strong, but deep down Ben knew that Rook was filled with deep sorrow. There was no escaping it now. The second that the scouts left Rook, the scouts that had been in the resting area left, as well.

Max placed a hand on Ben's shoulder. Other Plumbers looked at Ben with sadness, as well. Everyone had just gotten used to the idea of Rook being Ben's boyfriend, so the news was like a bullet to the chest for everyone.

"Ben ..." Max started, but he didn't get far.

Ben pulled away from his grandfather's hand as he just stood up and ran out of the room, tears starting to stream down his face.

* * *

Rook rubbed the back of neck, feeling like he had just lost the war. Or in this matter, he had been rerolled in one. Once Rook began walking down one of the chambers, he was met by a sobbing Ben, who had found Rook and flung his arms around his boyfriend.

Ben just buried his face in Rook's chest, silently sobbing. Rook held Ben tightly and ran his fingers through Ben's hair. He seemed to half hum and half purr to Ben, trying to calm him down. In response, Ben held Rook tighter.

"I can't let you go." Ben choked out. "I won't."

Rook took in a shuttered breath. "I'm still here, Ben."

"Well, you need to STAY here." Ben muttered though his sob.

* * *

Both Rook and Ben had left work early that day. Rook had half carried half pulled Ben into his apartment. Ben's eyes were red and puffy from all the silent sobbing, but when they had gotten back to Rook's apartment, Rook had just sat down on the couch with Ben's head resting on his lap.

Ben hadn't been crying anymore, but his breaths were shuttered and slow. Rook ran his fingers through his lover's hair, something he often did to comfort Ben. Ben had gotten used to to the point where he was almost asleep. Once Rook had slowly stopped, Ben glanced up at Rook, who looked like he was about to fall asleep himself.

Ben lifted his head from Rook's lap and scooted over beside Rook. Rook seemed to wake up once again as Ben wrapped his arms around Rook's shoulders. They both slowly fell back onto the couch. Rook's back lied flat on the couch while Ben lied on top of him. Leaning over Rook, Ben met his lips with Rook's.

There was no tongue involved, just their lips rubbing against each other. The kiss had lasted only for a few seconds before they pulled away and Ben placed his head on Rook's chest. They both had fallen asleep like that for a few hours.

When they woke, both had some dinner before going back to sleep for the night. Both had hardly spoke. Too lazy to change, both had just stripped down to their underwear and crawled under the sheets. But that was when things went bad.

During the night, Ben would often wake up from having horrible nightmares. Rook would hold his lover in his arms, running his finger's through Ben's dark hair, silently humming. After waking up screaming from yet another nightmare, Ben had finally spoke.

Ben was wrapped tightly in Rook's arms, tears streaming down his face. "You promised ..."

"Hm?" Rook hummed, still half asleep.

"You promised to never leave me." Ben whispered.

Rook held onto Ben tighter, sighing. "I know, but it is out of my control."

Ben burried his face in Rook's bare chest. "You can't go. You can't leave."

Rook clutched onto Ben. "I promise I will return."

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Ben said with a shuttered breath.

Rook froze. Deep down, he knew that he couldn't make such a promise. Sighing, Rook rested his head on top of Ben's. "Well, I CAN promise that I'll write you every chance I get."

Ben nuzzled up against Rook's neck. "I will, too."

Both sat in silence for a while, just hugging tightly to each other while Rook ran his hands up and down Ben's back. Ben had felt himself slightly falling asleep when Rook whispered to him.

"I love you ..."

Ben rested his head on Rook's shoulder. "I love you, too."

* * *

Sadly, Rook only had a couple days to pack everything up and say his good-byes. Not only had he packed the small things he needed, but he had also helped Ben move the stuff that he owned back into his own apartment.

When Ben had walked into his apartment, it was cold and dark, since he hadn't been in it forever. Rook had also helped Ben move back in and get things running again. Being inside the apartment felt so lonely to Ben. It reminded him of the times when he and Rook were apart. Just thinking about it tore Ben from the inside.

At some point, Ben had figured out that Rook could only take a bag's worth of stuff. Like usual, he had packed his Proto-Tool and a second Proto-Suit. Along with some other stuff that he thought he needed. At some point in time, Rook had stuffed a small picture of Ben inside, to remind him of what he was fighting for.

* * *

"Ready?" Max asked Rook, giving him a sympathetic look.

With a straight face, Rook nodded. His duffle bag was slung over his shoulder and his eyes were poised for anything to come.

There was a long, unorganized line leading outside of a corn field leading into a ship. There, scouts would ask for their names and check them off. The process seemed slow, since there were what seemed like one hundred Plumbers trying to get their names checked off, but the line moved by fast. Rook wasn't in it, but he was about to be.

Secretly, Rook had been waiting. He wasn't waiting to get on the ship out of fear, but just because he wanted to wait for his boyfriend. They had said their good-byes back at home, but Ben had wanted to be there to see Rook's ship take off.

After a while of waiting, Rook sighed, knowing he couldn't wait any longer. He took some brave steps towards the line, but a screeching sound had stopped him. Turning around to look, he saw that Ben's car had screeched to a stop inside the corn field. Ben then burst out of the car and sprinted towards Ben.

As Ben sprinted towards him, Rook hadn't been prepared for the death grip of a hug that Ben gave him. Rook felt a shutter of relief to know that Ben was now there. He hugged Ben back with equal amount of strength. Small tears squeezed out of Ben's eyes. Although he had silently cried the night before, he couldn't hold back his fears for Rook.

As Rook held his boyfriend, something caught his eye. Looking towards Ben's car, Rook saw that four others had climbed out of the car. Two of which were Gwen and Kevin. Kevin seemed expressionless as he watched the two hugging, but Gwen looked like a mixture of compassion and sadness.

The other two were people that Rook hadn't seen in forever. He at first didn't recognize them, but their resemblance to Ben let Rook know that the older male and female were Ben's parents. Like Kevin, Ben's father was expressionless, but was there for Ben. His mother was like Gwen, but she shone with much more compassion and sympathy.

The sight warmed Rook's heart, seeing that Ben's friends and relatives had made up and supported his decision to be with Rook. The sight also gave Rook hope that Ben wouldn't be alone when he left. He was more than happy to see that there were those who would look out for Ben and love him just in case Rook ...

Rook shook the thought away. No. He would return. He would come back and the first thing he would do would be welcomed by Ben's open arms. Until that day came, Rook would fight to keep their love alive.

After what seemed like forever, Rook lightly pushed Ben apart from him. Ben's eyes were filled with worry and sorrow. A single tear rolled down his cheek, but Rook wiped it away, giving Ben a fake smile.

"Be back soon ..." Ben whispered.

Rook hesitated, but just nodded. He slightly turned around to see that the line was shorter than ever. Sighing, he turned back to Ben. "Don't forget me."

"Never." Ben muttered.

Rook gave a weak purr, meaning to not only comfort Ben, but himself, too. He bent over and planted a soft kiss on Ben's forehead. He pulled away and moved his hand to Ben's.

"I love you." he whispered with choked up emotion.

Ben lightly squeezed Rook's hand. "I love you, too."

Looking away, to avoid an emotional good-bye, Rook turned around started to walk away, pulling his hand away from Ben's.

'Don't look back. Don't look back.' Rook told himself.

However, after he had been signed in, being the last on the ship, he had been tempted. Just before he fully climbed onto the ship, he turned his head to see Ben standing where Rook had left him. When Ben saw him looking, he gave a fake smile, waving. However, he wasn't alone. Kevin, Gwen, and his parents had stood beside Ben, waving as well.

Rook gave a small wave back, turning around and walking onto the ship. Some how, Rook felt regret and agony stabbing at his heart. Every step he took away from Ben, he felt as if he was leaving his whole self behind. A part of him would stay with Ben. And even if Rook had died at war, at least a part of his heart would be with Ben.

* * *

_Sorry this took some time to make. The next one will be longer._

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS))_


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 -

Since then, Ben was constantly surrounded by friends and family, all wanting to comfort him. Ben's mother had insisted on Ben temporarily moving back in with them. However, for the first few days of moving back in, he felt even more lonely. It was a silly though, considering his parents had let him back in through their front door and Kevin and Gwen would often visit, but Ben felt an empty space inside him. A part of him had been torn away just watching Rook get onto that ship.

Many had been concerned for Ben, including Grandpa Max. Ben would hardly come out of his room, and whenever he did, it would be to eat or get some medicine for his migraines. Oh, the migraines. They would come when unexpected and at the worst times. Once, when Ben had actually gone to work, he left an hour later after receiving a horrible migraine. He didn't come back to work since.

Ben's migraines weren't only mysterious, but they were scary. Once when Ben had left his room to sit alone in his mother's garden, his mother had witnessed something she thought she would never have to see again. Ben's migraines came in what seemed like spasms. At one moment, he would be sitting unaware, but another he would be clutching his locks as if to yanks them out of his head.

When Ben's mother had seen the sight of her son rocking on his knees and pulling at his hair, she had almost called 911. With the help of her husband, she had driven to the hospital in a hurry. It was a wonder she didn't get a speeding ticket.

Anyway, migraines were just one of the many after effects.

Nightmares were another factor. No one could truly guess what the small teen was ever dreaming about, but from the cries and screams he gave at night, people had guessed that they weren't pretty.

'Oh,' thought Ben, 'if only they knew'.

However, things seemed to change the day that Ben got a letter.

Going outside to the mail box, Mr. Tennyson pulled everything out. Besides the bills and junk mail, there was a capsule. A capsule? Lifting it to the side, Carl read the imprinting. He then gave a small smile.

When he burst through the front door, Sandra was watering her plants while Ben sat on the couch. Sandra had no doubt persuaded him to come out of his room. When Ben glanced up at his father, Carl just smiled warmly and lightly tossed the capsule towards his son. Ben caught it, not knowing what the excitement was all about.

However, once he read the side, he smiled warmly. Something that hardly anyone had seen in a long time. From the sight, Sandra gave her husband a questioning glance, but Carl just crossed his arms, waiting for his son to open the capsule.

Once Ben had popped the seal, he pulled out what looked to be a stack of papers. All were in order and had neat handwriting on each page. He seemed so happy, there were tears in his eyes.

* * *

For two hours straight, all Ben did was  
read Rook's letter. After he read a page, he would reread it and then move onto the next page. Once he finished reading all the pages, he reread all of them one last time, just to make sure that everything sank in.

Ben allowed a few tears to of joy fall down his cheeks. Rook was alright.

From the letter, Ben found out that Rook was stationed at a secret base. He couldn't even tell Ben about it. Telling him such a minor detail as to that he is at a secret base was risky enough, but he thought that Ben should know where he was.

He had also explained to Ben that war was coming, but for the time being, he was to hang back at the base and train every day. While most of the other guys stayed up at night to play video games or to just have to bro time, Rook took the time to get some sleep. Except for the night that he spent writing this letter to Ben.

And although Rook was distant from the other men, they seemed to be kind and would encourage him to join in. Some times he did, and some times he didn't.

Some nights, Rook had had trouble sleeping, but not because of the fact that in the distance you could hear flares and see bright flashes, but because he was consumed by the thought of Ben. Even during the day, when he was meant to be fully concentrated on his training, he was still consumed by the thought of Ben. His warm face, bright green eyes, and dark brown hair would follow Rook wherever he went. Which was good, and bad.

Good, as in he never lost sight of the one person he truly loved, but bad as in he would often day dream of him and Ben together, getting him in trouble by the commander.

Rook's sleeping quarters was small, but simple. Each solider got a small space to store their stuff (which was mainly under their bed), a small, wooden wall in between each space, and some curtains for privacy. It didn't sound like much, but it was cozy enough for Rook. To make things more 'at home', Rook had placed the photo of Ben he had brought with him and pinned it to the wooden wall. So, whenever Rook woke up and before he went to bed, he would be reminded who he was fighting for.

Rook had sadly explained how Ben couldn't write Rook back, due to that fact that the location was so secret, Rook was lucky to be able to send out a letter. However, he would be eagerly awaiting the day he returned and Ben could fill Rook in on everything.

Ben had been saddened by this, but he was happy nevertheless at the fact that he had gotten word from Rook. His favorite part was at the end, when Rook signed away:

Love you with all my heart,

Rook

* * *

Thankfully, things had picked up from there. The migraines came less frequent and Ben had come out more often. Although he would still sometimes hide away in his room with enduring migraines, he would often try to come out and help his mother around the house. Sometimes, he would just come out of his room to spend time in the garden, alone. He seemed to like it there most of all.

His mother had turned a large portion of their backyard into a majestic garden. When she had first done this, she hardly spent any time away from it. Before long, there were vines growing on the perimeter fence, roses and other flowers growing all around, a stone path leading through the garden, and his mother had even had the help of her husband to build a stone water fountain.

However, the water hadn't been running for what seemed like forever. Both his parents were too busy to fix it or had too many things on their minds to remember. But Ben had plenty of time, and didn't forget.

He made it a daily thing to go out into his mother's garden every morning and work on the fountain. It had taken him a whole week, but he had done it. During the time when he was fixing the fountain, neither of his parents looked at his progress. They wished to wait until he was finished. His mother longed to enter her garden, to weed and water her flowers, but from the looks of it, Ben had that all well under control.

Spring had come early that year. Although there was once still a small sheet of snow on the ground, flowers would pop out of the ground, making Ben's mother excited. Once the last of the snow had melted, around the same time Rook had left, then she had gone to work on her garden. She was thankful that she now had a little help in doing so.

Ben's father had at first had his concerns about his son gardening every day, but both he and Sandra had agreed that as long as Ben was doing something constructive, then they were to be glad he was slowly recovering from his funk.

However, on a Friday, Ben had finished his work of art. While his father was at work, his mother had entered the garden for the first time in a whole week. She stared in awe at the fountain. It was even better than before. The stones were polished to look brighter, and the fountain's water system began to function once again.

"Wow, Ben!" his mother cried out, walking closer to the fountain to stare into the clear water. "How's you fix it?"

Ben grinned back. "It wasn't easy, but I was able to fix the wires and motor. Rook taught me how to do that."

Ben's mother continued to stare into the water, but noticed her son's sudden silence. She turned around to see him staring at his own feet, his expression sullen.

"Oh, honey." his mother cooed as she walked up to Ben, hugging him tightly. "We all miss him."

Ben willed himself not to cry. "I know, Mom. I know."

* * *

Later that day, after fixing the fountain, Ben had stayed in the garden, sitting at the fountain's edge. His mother felt as if she should have done something, but Carl had told her to give their son some breathing space. After all, he was eighteen. He could handle himself just fine.

However, when Carl had returned home that night, he found his wife sitting on the couch, looking confused and lost.

"Is there something wrong, Dear?" he had asked her, hanging up his coat.

Sandra stood up, giving her husband a hug, and then pulling away. "Ben was doing so well, Carl. Even if it meant gardening all day every day, he was doing SOMETHING. He hasn't had a migraine in a whole week, but after I commented on his work, be some how brought up Rook by accident. Now ... he seems down again. All that hard work for nothing."

Carl shook his head. "No. Not for nothing. The boy is starting to learn what it takes to be a man. Even if it means loosing someone important to him, then so be it."

"Carl!" Sandra snapped. "How can you say such a thing?"

Sighing, her husband took her hand in his. "You know I'm right, Sandra. The sooner he realizes that this is just life, the better it'll be for everyone. And besides, you shouldn't blame him for thinking about someone he loved. I mean, if I lost you, I don't know what I'd do."

"You talk of Rook as if he were dead." Sandra said, narrowing her eyes.

Carl sighed, walking off to drop his brief case on the couch. "War, Sandra. As long as he is out there, he might as well be dead. All we can do is hope he returns to our son. Until then, he will be spoken as if he were dead."

As much as Sandra wanted to testify this statement, she knew it was true.

* * *

Ben continued to sit alone at the edge of the water fountain. Although the sun was slowly going down and the birds were finding their nests to rest in, Ben didn't move. He placed his head in his hands, feeling another migraine coming on.

He didn't notice the on coming foot steps before they stopped and a figure sat beside him. Slightly looking up, Ben saw the stone face of his father. Sighing, Ben placed his face back into his hands.

"Well, 'hello' to you, too." Carl said with a snort.

"Hey, Dad." Ben muttered.

"Is there something wrong, son?" his dad asked, placing a hand on Ben's shoulder.

"No. Not really." Ben lied. "Just a migraine is all."

Carl looked off into the distance. "You mother has some medicine if you want it."

"I'm fine, thanks." Ben seemed to mutter half to himself.

"No." his father said, getting to his point. "You're not 'fine'."

His son had hardly any interest in the conversation. "It's just a migraine, Dad. I've had them before."

"I'm not talking about the migraine." his father said sternly. "I'm talking about this Rook situation."

Suddenly, Ben looked up eye level with his father. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Ben's dad began, not sugar coating anything. "You need to stop sulking over Rook. It isn't natural."

"Nothing about me is 'natural' to you Dad!" Ben yelled. "It took you years just to get over the fact that I'm a Plumber, and I'm not something 'normal' like a police man, or a business person. I fall in love with my partner, and YOU don't find that 'natural'?!"

"That isn't what I -"

"You NO idea what it's like!" Ben shouted as he stood up, almost on the verge of tears. "I tried EVERYTHING in dealing with it. I MOVED just to get away and be who I really am. I gave my heart's blood to the one person I ever truly loved, and now he's gone off to damn war! How am I not to know that he is dead right now? I can't even stay in my own apartment because I'm afraid I'll just waste away. I crawl back to where I started, and just to be treated like a child all over again! No. You have NO idea what this feels like."

"You're right." Carl said loudly as he stood up, as well. "I don't know what it's like to see someone I love go off to war."

"So, why do you even bother giving me crap about my life?" Ben muttered.

Taking in a deep breath, Carl placed a firm hand on his son's shoulder. "Ben, I only want what is best for you. And although you are eighteen, to me and you're mother, you will always be our son. If there is ANYTHING that we think could hurt you, we try to prevent you from it. We saw that you might be seriously hurt by Rook, so we tried keeping you away. But, seeing that you would move and change everything about the way you live just to be with this one person you think is your 'true love' makes me realize you aren't a child anymore. You can make your own decisions, now. And, not matter what you decide to do with your life, your mother and I will ALWAYS support your decisions."

All Ben could do was look up at his father with what was a mixture of surprise and confusion.

Sighing, Carl pulled his hand away from Ben's shoulder. "Look, all I'm saying is that you need to get a grip. I don't know everything that you're going through, but I DO know that you won't fix anything by spending all your time in a garden and sulking over Rook. Want my advice? Do something with yourself. Like you said, you're a Plumber. Start acting like one. Maybe even catch up on your bills for your apartment."

Looking down, Ben nodded, understanding. He had wanted to say something to his father, but before he could even look up, he heard footsteps walking out of the garden. Ben had felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, but at the same time a new one began to press down on him. His father was right. He needed to stop sulking all day and do something with his life.

* * *

Now that the fountain was fixed, Ben felt like he could leave the garden to his mother.

Packing up what was left at his parent's house, Ben packed everything into his car and drove back to his apartment. His mother was indeed saddened to see her son leaving for the second time, but Ben had promised her that he would visit soon.

After a couple days of getting his apartment back up and running and paying past due bills, Ben finally decided on going back to work, but he did so with a heavy heart. At every turn and corner, Ben was reminded of his lost love. For a while, no one talked or approached Ben, out of fear of setting him off again.

However, Ben wasn't slightly set off at all. In fact, he seemed to be in complete control over his emotions. Well, mostly.

However, one night, when he was at home rummaging through a box, he stumbled upon something that he could never forget. Pulling the soft and ragged blanket out of the box, Ben instantly remembered what it was from.

Remembering the night that he and Rook were fighting the hogs, Ben could still smell Rook's sweet scent on it from when he wrapped Ben (in Ballweevil form) in the blanket. He had taken Ben back to his room that night, leaving the blanket with him.

Ben had loved this blanket. It had smelt of Rook and brought back so many bitter sweet memories. Ben had greatly loved this blanket. Sitting at the edge of his bed, Ben buried his face in the blanket, imaging he was beside Rook. Suddenly, he couldn't hold back the tears as they ran down from his face to his lover's blanket.

The one thing he had left that reminded Ben of his partner was clenched in Ben's shaky hands. Holding onto the blanket, Ben felt as if he would never let go.

'I won't let go.' Ben thought to himself. 'I promise I will never let go.'

* * *

The next letter had come the following day. Just holding a piece of paper with Rook's hand writing brought great comfort and relief to Ben.

However, this letter wasn't as pleasant.

Like Rook had thought, war had come faster than he had expected. Not only were soldiers to train all day, but they were to beginning late night training.

Rook hardly ate due to all the stress and extra training. Even when he was able to get with the others, he found it best to keep his distance. So, when he wasn't training, he was sleeping. And although Rook felt as if it were wrong to eat, he would anyway, being told that he would need to keep up his strength.

Rook found it hard to eat for unknown reasons. Perhaps it was because he was home sick, or just because of the fact that he was under such stress. Whenever Rook did eat though, he would feel sick to his stomach, as if he knew he had done something horribly wrong.

Once, when Rook was under great stress and he was forced to eat by the commander, he had stumbled into the shared bathroom area. He had willed himself not to. To keep it down, but he simply couldn't as he felt sicker than ever. So, he had thrown up his food a couple times.

Others had advised Rook to get this checked out, but they were at war. There wasn't much they could do, even if there WAS something wrong with Rook. So, he ate infrequently and ate small portions. It was better than nothing.

Ben's hands shook as he read this part.

More than ever Ben was worried about his Rook.

Sitting on his bed, Ben hugged his knees and began to rock back and forth.

"Everything is fine." he mumbled to himself. "Everything will be alright."

But things weren't going to be 'alright'.

* * *

_This is basically a warm up for the next chapter. This is just to get you going on what is happening. The next chapter will contain more emotions, but also some action._

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS))_


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 -

Ben had to basically force himself out of his bed the next day. He felt oddly tired and out of balance. When he tried to stand up, he felt dizzy and as if he were about to throw up. He had fallen asleep with the same clothes on he had been wearing the day before. His hair was messy and mangled, and his once bright green eyes were dull and tired looking.

He hadn't bothered taking a shower or changing his clothes. He just smoothed out his shirt and pants the best he could and ran his fingers through his messed up hair. Good enough.

* * *

At HQ, Ben moved as if he were a zombie. He didn't talk to anyone, as if there was no one there. All he did that day was pay his dos and do what he was told. When his grandpa told him to do something important, Ben did it without questioning or hesitating.

Ben already knew that there was something wrong. True, he had felt depressed and as if there was a major part of him missing since Rook left, but there was something else. He had felt it before Rook left too, but Ben had just assumed that the feeling was himself getting sick, but he now knew it must have been something else.

Ben would feel sad one moment, but then he would feel angry another. His stomach would turn and his hands would shake from time to time. His symptoms hadn't been this bad before Rook left, but things had seemed to only get worse once Ben figured out Rook wasn't getting along well. Things from there had seemed to trigger something inside Ben, making him feel more sick.

Ben now stood in from of his grandpa. There was a concerned expression on his grandfather's face, as if he wanted to talk about something. However, Ben wasn't listening. What was wrong? Ben had tried as hard as he could to listen, but no matter how hard he stared at his grandfather's lips, they seemed to remain mute, not making any sound.

All Ben could think about was the thundering sounds coming from inside his stomach. How could Grandpa Max NOT hear it? The sound seemed to rush to Ben's ears. It was no longer thundering noises, but more rushing water, or blood. Ben then felt light headed, and began to stumble back. Before he fell, he felt a strong hand grip his arm.

That was when Ben snapped out of it.

"Ben? Are you alright?" Grandpa Max said, worried.

Ben swallowed hard. "Y-yeah. I'm fine."

Ben's voice sounded high pitched, yet small and cracked. Before Ben turned and left, he caught sight of his Grandpa's expression. It was beyond worried. Ben had wondered what his grandpa had been trying to tell Ben, but he couldn't think of much as he rushed out to the parking lot. Once he got into his car, he slammed the door shut and threw his head back on the seat, placing both his hands over his face.

Taking in deep breaths, Ben tried to stay calm, to make his breathing steady and making the bubbling in his stomach go down, but it didn't. It had only made him feel worse. Then there came the pain.

The sick feelings that Ben had been feeling were nothing compared to this new found pain. It had felt as if there was acid eating away at Ben's insides. Tears rose to Ben's eyes, making him wince in pure pain. He thought he heard himself wail, but he couldn't hear anything else as the rushing sound returned to his ears.

Something was wrong. Really wrong.

* * *

Returning to his apartment, Ben had rushed straight to the bathroom. The bubbling that he had felt in his stomach before had only gotten worse on the car ride home.

Oh, the car ride. Joy.

Riding home was almost like drunken driving, only instead of having a happy feeling it felt as if Ben was in pure pain the whole way home. There were bright lights everywhere, blinding him and giving him a migraine. His whole body had felt as if it were being stretched and ripped apart.

Once Ben had gotten out of his car, he had felt as if he had just gotten out of an airless crate. However, the new found air had only lasted a while as his stomach felt as if it were about to flip out. That had been when Ben had sprinted into his apartment bathroom, scrambling for his toilet.

Tears blinding his vision, Ben had found his toilet and lifted up the lid just in time to puke his guts out. After about a good minute of puking up everything, Ben had to take in deep, shuttered breaths. Leaning his head on the rim of the toilet, Ben felt his cheeks become wet with tears that continued to roll down them. Thankfully, after he had finished throwing up, he had felt much better.

Cleaning himself up afterword, Ben had dragged himself to bed, moaning as he felt another stabbing pain to his side. Whatever was making him hurt so much was something foul. His cheeks burned and his whole body ached. Being away from Rook and being in such misery made Ben feel as if life really was out to get him.

* * *

"Ben? Ben are you home?" Gwen tried again, knocking on Ben's door.

"Oh well, we tried." Kevin said, turning to leave.

"Kevin, wait." Gwen said, putting a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "Something might be wrong."

"Like what?" Kevin said, bored. "Why are we even here?"

"Grandpa Max said that something might be wrong with Ben, and he hasn't shown up to work for a couple days. No one has been able to get a hold of him. Not even his parents. I'm really worried."

Turning to look at Gwen's down expression, Kevin sighed, taking a few steps back. "Look out."

Steping out of the away, Gwen made room for Kevin to ram down the door.

Once Kevin slammed into the door, knocking it to the ground on the inside of Ben's apartment, Gwen  
walked inside and helped Kevin up.

"Why didn't you check to see if it was unlocked?" Gwen asked.

"What's the fun in that?" Kevin said with a sneer.

Rolling her eyes, Gwen walked around the apartment, but Ben wasn't in his kitchen or anywhere in the living room. When Kevin tapped her on her shoulder, she turned towards him. Kevin pointed towards the lit bathroom.

Nodding, Gwen took some brave steps towards the bathroom, prepared for anything. However, when she stepped inside the bathroom, she hadn't been prepared to see the mess. Feeling herself feel dizzy from the sight, Kevin was right behind her to catch her.

* * *

When Ben awake, he was in a warm, white bed. For a heartbeat, he thought he was in Rook's sheets, but he knew it wasn't true. These sheets weren't ruffled and didn't smell of Rook. And worst of all, they didn't have Rook in them. Ben released a pained sigh.

Well, if he wasn't in his own bed, or Rook's, then where was he?

Once Ben's vision adjusted, he saw that he was in a completely clean bed and in a sanitary room. There was some people around him. After looking a bit closer, Ben was able to tell that the people around him were his parents, Grandpa Max, Gwen, and Kevin.

All but Kevin were huddled close to the bed, looking worried. Kevin sat in a seat off to the side. He didn't look worried, but he didn't look bored, either. His arms were crossed and he watched with interest as Ben began to shuffle around.

Ben then realized that he was in a hospital. Slightly panicking, Ben felt around, seeing if he had any cords or anything attached to him, but to his great relief, nothing was sticking to him or poking into his skin. Sighing heavily, Ben closed his eyes and lied his head on the soft pillow, wishing he could just be back in his apartment, alone.

"Ben? Honey?" he heard his mother say softly.

Ben tried to say something, anything, but only hums seemed to come out.

Then the door opened, letting a doctor walk in. He was prepped and clean looking, but also serious. His gaze fell on Ben, then on the parents. He motioned with his hands for them to follow him. His gaze them pinned on Max, Kevin, and Gwen, telling them to stay put. At first, they looked like they had wanted to come, too, but there wasn't much they could say or do.

Following the doctor into another room, Ben's parents both looked worried, especially Sandra.

Once they walked into a closed room, the doctor shut the door behind him and told the two to take a seat. Doing as the doctor instructed, the two parents sat down, looking towards the doctor, wide eyed.

"What is wrong with our Ben?" Sandra asked quickly.

Sighing, the doctor flipped through some papers on his clip board. "I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that Ben's illness isn't as bad as you assumed."

"What do you mean?" Carl said, narrowing his eyes.

"I mean," the doctor explained. "He is simply suffering from an overload of stress."

"Well, what is the bad news?" Sandra almost whispered.

Sighing again, the doctor looked the woman in the eye. "He is suffering from a stress disorder and extreme anxiety pains."

Carl held his wife in his arms as she silently began to sob.

"I don't understand." she sniffled through tears. "He was doing so well! He moved back into his apartment and went back to work."

"Perhaps that is the problem. Sometimes, when a person is slowly recovering from stress or depression, if they make too drastic of a change in too short of time, then they'll crash even harder then before." the doctor then explained.

Carl remained silent as his wife silently sobbed in his arms.

"What are we going to do?" she sobbed.

"Well," the doctor said calmly. "I can prescribe Ben to Xanax. It's a drug used to treat anxiety disorders, panic disorders, and just plain out depression."

"Will it work?" Carl asked quietly.

The doctor shook his head sadly. "We can only hope."

* * *

Later that day, Carl had explained to Grandpa Max everything that the doctor had explained to them. During the whole time, Sandra had sobbed in Carl's arms. Never once had they thought that their son would suffer from deep depression.

Sandra had believed that it was because that Ben really did love Rook. She believed that he loved Rook to the point where when Rook left it was like Ben was watching his soul mate leave his life.

However, Carl thought differently. True, he knew that Ben loved Rook deeply, but he also partly blamed himself. Perhaps Ben wouldn't have moved back into his apartment and gone back to work if Carl hadn't told him to get himself back together. In fact, when Ben had left, Carl had been happy, seeing that his son was getting his life back to where is was. Mostly.

So, with Gwen and Kevin's help, Carl had moved some of Ben's stuff back into Ben's old room for the second time. When Ben had been driven back home, he had been a little loopy from the Xanax. The doctor had been experimenting with how much to give Ben, but as it turned out, Ben didn't need such big of a dose. So, for future reference, Ben would take a smaller dose.

Ben had went to bed the second he got back home, but that hadn't lasted long.

Ben's eyes snapped open as he felt something horrible happening inside him. Launching himself out of his bed, Ben ran down the hall, realizing that he wasn't in his apartment but in his old home. Acting quickly, he ran for the bathroom. Not bothering to close the door behind him, Ben fell to the tiled ground and hunched over the toilet.

Instantly, he threw up everything in his stomach. However, Ben knew that there wasn't much in his stomach. Sure, he had eaten half a sandwich at the hospital, but that wasn't much compared to what he threw up. What he threw up was mostly yellow liquid. It took Ben a while to process everything. The liquid was all the water that he had drank at the hospital to make him feel better and what made it turn yellow was from the pills he had swallowed only half an hour ago.

Once he had nothing left to throw up, Ben lied his head on the side of the toilet seat. His throat burned and his head swam. He thought he heard himself moaning, but he couldn't be too sure. His eyes were shut, squeezing hot tears out as they rolled down his cheeks. Opening them, Ben saw that outside the doorway stood his frightened mother.

She held a dish rag in her hands, clenching it and holding it to her chest. Her eyes seemed to be watering with emotion as she watched her son falling to pieces right in front of her.

* * *

"Perhaps he is having an allergic reaction to the Xanax." the doctor suggested over the phone.

"Are you sure? There isn't anything else it could be that is making my son throw it up?" his mother said, extremely worried.

The doctor sighed. "I'm just pitching ideas here, Miss. However, there is also the possibility that he might just be sick. If he really is depressed, then he might have developed a flu or cold."

"How could he get a flu or cold if he's depressed?" Sandra hissed.

"Sometimes if a person isn't in the mood to take care of themselves, they allow themselves to become sick." the doctor answered plainly. "If you would like, we can get him in for a testing, to see if he is allergic or not."

Sandra sighed painfully. "Alright. When is the earliest we can get him in?"

"We can get you in tomorrow morning. Until then, don't give him any more Xanax."

"Obviously." Sandra seemed to snarl as she hung up.

* * *

Ben and Sandra waited in the waiting room.

Sandra was a little irritated. Not just because they had been waiting for twenty minutes already, but because Carl couldn't even bother to cancel a meeting to be here. Sandra for sure would be having a serious conversation with him when he got home later that day.

"Ben Tennyson?" a nervous nurse had said as she opened a door from inside a hallway.

"Finally." Sandra whispered to herself.

Standing up, Sandra began to walk towards the door, but then she noticed that her son wasn't following. Turning back towards the seats, she saw that Ben was leaning his elbow in the chair's arm. His face was in his hand, his eyes drifting off to some far away place.

"Ben?" his mother said lightly.

Others in the waiting room were watching Ben. The great protector of the universe was in the waiting room of a hospital, and he wasn't looking in that great of shape. He was skinnier than usual and he seemed oddly pale. His once bright green eyes were now dull and showed no life.

Seeing the other's staring, Ben's mother took a step towards her son. "Ben!"

Ben's eyes flickered, snapping out of his trance. He looked towards his mother as if he didn't know who she was. The look he gave her crushed Sandra.

"Ben?" she whispered. "Ready?"

Slightly nodding, Ben stumbled, but was able to stand up from his chair. Once he got up, he slowly followed his mother through the white hall.

* * *

Ben wasn't great with needles, and the doctor knew it. So, that was why he brought two other nurses with him besides the one who had brought him and his mother to the small room.

However, the extra nurses weren't needed. Ben, for the first time in years, didn't struggle or resist. He didn't even know he was having blood taken from his body. His gaze was some place else as his body remained limp in a chair. Sandra and everyone else in the room had been impressed, and then worried. This wasn't like Ben at all.

After they had collected the blood, Sandra and Ben had left. There was nothing else they could do until the results came in, which would be within a week or so. So, in that time, Ben wouldn't be able to take any Xanax.

Sandra wasn't sure what to do. All she wanted to do was chew out Carl for not being at the hospital, and then sob about how everything was falling apart.

* * *

Bombs. They were everywhere.

They were the one thing that the young warrior could hear. He tried with all his might to stay on his feet and listen to orders being barked at him, but he couldn't do either. With each bomb that hit the ridged earth, more dirt flew up into the air, blinding the Revonnahgander's vision, knocking him to the ground repeatedly, and filling his hearing with the same buzzing sound.

He then began to panic, even though he knew that he was trained not to. Where was he? What was his orders? He couldn't stand up right. His troop was being thrown to the ground by bombs as well.

Getting to his feet, the violet skinned alien then regained his balance and hearing. Was that the last of the bombs? Looking around, he saw that his troops, too, were slowly picking themselves up. Although it was horrible, there were a couple who couldn't get up. And they never would again.

War was a horrible thing.

Suddenly, that was when the soldier heard the horrible sound. It wasn't like the buzzing sound he hear when he was being thrown to the ground by upturned earth, but it was more high pitched, like something was flying closer and closer.

That was when it hit him. Before he would run or warn his troop, a small, bead like pellet hit the ground. It lied on the ground for only a second before it blew, sending dirt and rock flying everywhere. There was that ringing sound, again. This time, when he feel to the ground, he couldn't get back up, and the ringing didn't go away as his vision blurred.

"Rook!" he heard someone yell off in the background. "Where'd he go?"

"Forget him!" another person cried.

"Let's get out of here!"

* * *

Ben wasn't sure what was happening. All he knew was that he was sitting on a couch. At one moment he was watching TV, but another his gaze had drifted off. He had often done this. He would look off into the distance and just fall into another place. A place that was safe and not dangerous. To Ben, everything seemed like it was dangerous. Eating anything was dangerous. People's opinions were dangerous. EVERYTHING was dangerous.

Only when he heard his mother's voice coming from the kitchen did he snap back into focus. He stared at the black lines on the TV. What had his mother said? Oh, it must not have mattered. As Ben stared at the black lines on the TV, Ben gasped. Was that ... Rook? Ben got down on his hands and knees as he crawled towards the TV.

Once he got inches away from it, he hovered his hand above it. He thought he could see Rook's loving face on the screen, waving to Ben. Ben's hand was about to touch it, but then Sandra's voice made Ben's head turn and stare at his mother, who stood in the kitchen's doorway. Ben stared at her for a moment, but then turned back to the TV. Rook was gone.

'There is something wrong with me.' Ben thought. 'There is nothing there. Rook isn't in the TV. He is at war.'

* * *

The next day wasn't as bad as the one before. In fact, Ben hadn't thrown up at all. Sure, he had thrown up the night before, but that was mostly just from eating from being starved. Now, Ben was starving again and wanted to eat. Sandra was worried about upsetting Ben's stomach, but she was glad that Ben didn't seem too down anymore.

Now, Ben was moving around more. Sure, as in 'moving around' he was going into the kitchen to eat a jar of peanut butter and then going back to the couch to watch some TV, but at least he wasn't spacing out or seeing things that weren't there any more.

As the days went by, Sandra and Carl had been noticing a change in their son. No longer did he look thin and pasty, but he was looking a little plump around the stomach and he was returning to his normal color. Oddly enough, he continued to throw up on a daily basis. This continued to worry Sandra, but it was better than him being depressed 24/7.

Sure, Ben was still distant from others and seemed a little depressed, but he wasn't constantly trying to avoid others and feeling sorry for himself. His depression seemed to slowly die down, but no one could tell for sure. And no one wanted to try their luck by pushing Ben.

One day, when Sandra felt comfortable enough, she had left Ben alone for a couple hours while she went shopping. That son of hers was eating just about everything in their house, and throwing up just about half of everything. And it had only been a week since he returned back to their home.

However, when she returned, she had nearly dropped her purse. While she had been gone, Ben had cleared out the ENTIRE cabinets and most of the fridge. And, sure enough, had thrown up half of it. This wasn't normal.

So, for the millionth time that week, Sandra had called the doctor, asking if the results were in and if there was any possible answers for Ben's eating habits and his mood swings.

Oh, yes. The mood swings. One moment, Ben would be happy and watching TV, and another, he would be angry and slamming his door shut. Carl had wanted to talk to Ben about this, but Sandra begged him to not bring it up until the results were in, or until they had a better understanding what was happening to their son.

Now, Ben sat on the couch. A few seconds ago, he had been angry. He had been angry that his boyfriend was at war, that the stupid doctors didn't know what was wrong with him, that the couch he was sitting on was lumpy, and that HE was lumpy.

Patting his stomach with his hand, Ben grumbled to himself. He wasn't really lumpy or chubby, but more ... bumpy. The rest of his body was perfectly fine and smooth, just like it normally was, as if all the food he ate (that he didn't throw up) went straight to the fat around his stomach. However, instead of being lumpy, it was smooth and hard, like a perfect bump. Ben guessed this was due to the fact that he threw up half of the food he ate, making his stomach turn every time.

The bump wasn't that big. It looked more like baby chub. But Ben wasn't a baby, nor was he a teenager any longer. From this, Ben released an angry moan. If he was going to be fat when he was older, then why not make it look like REAL fat instead of a stupid, small bump?

A few days ago, the bump had been smaller, like Ben had just eaten too much, but now it was getting slightly bigger, like he really was getting fat. Ben just found it strange that it was in a perfect bump, though.

"Whatever." he muttered to himself, not caring anymore.

* * *

The phone in the kitchen rang. Sandra instantly ran for it, grabbing it. She had been waiting for Ben's test results to come in for a whole week. It had been a week only a day ago. And even though she knew that a week was an estimate, she couldn't help becoming even more worried.

"Is this Sandra Tennyson?" the doctor asked over the phone.

"Yes." she answered quickly. "This is her speaking."

"Right." he said, as if stalling. His voice sounded rambling, as if he was nervous. "Um ... the results came in."

"Well?" Sandra said, impatient.

"He isn't allergic to the Xanax." the doctor said in too happy of a voice.

Sandra knew there was something else he wasn't saying. "And ... ?"

The doctor did a fake cough, as if trying to find a way to say what he wanted to without it being too awkward. "Well, you see ... um ... this is awkward. You see, when Ben throws up the Xanax, it is a serious and dangerous side effect. It is a good thing he threw it up, and only took it once, though."

Sandra snorted. "And WHY haven't I been told about this? My son has been given a drug that could serious harm him and I wasn't told?!"

"Well ... you see ... since he is male, we didn't see any need to test him first or give you the warning."

Sandra then became confused. "What? What does that have to do with anything?"

There was a long and extremely awkward pause. Sighing, the doctor took in a deep breath, coming out with the truth.

"Your son is pregnant."

The phone clattered to the floor.

* * *

**PLEASE READ!**

_This is for the 4 Day Weekend Marathon. Friday is the 16th chapter of Broken, so here it is!_

_And I know (at least I think) I said a few chapters back that this fan fiction wouldn't have male pregnancy, but that was mainly because I wanted this to be purely a love story. Now, I wanted to show the effects of having the person you love be lost at war and then having the news that you're carrying their child. That stuff isn't easy, people. It's tuff._

_Taking Xanax when pregnant is a big no no._

_And please, don't ask me about Rook. You'll just have to wait and see how things turn out._

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS))_


	18. Chapter 17

**WARNING: This chapter contains strong language.**

Chapter 17 -

Ben heard the phone fall to the ground with a bang. This had made him jolt, his heart seeming to beat out of his chest. It was small things or noises like this that would easily startle Ben. Once his heart rate was normal again, Ben heaved himself off the couch.

"Mom? Are you alright?" Ben said, walking towards the kitchen.

When Ben rounded the corner, he saw his mother looking pale as she bent over to the ground. Her hands moved around on the ground, as if she was trying so desperately to grab the fallen phone. Once she had finally grabbed it, she stood back up and placed it on the receiver, placing a palm on her face, taking in a deep breath, as if she was about to pass out.

"Mom, do you need to sit down?" Ben said, placing a hand on his mother's shoulder.

Sandra then flinched, as if she had just then noticed that her son was there. She stared at him for a moment longer, but then sighed.

"No." she answered. "I'm fine."

Ben gave his mother a skeptical look, but just nodded. "Alright."

* * *

A month. A whole month had gone by since Rook had gone off to war. Ben had just realized this as he took a peak at the calendar that same day. His heart seemed to drop down to his stomach. It had felt like so much longer.

"Wow." Ben said, leaning his back against the wall. "Only a month ..."

Ben's stomach began to gurgle. He was hungry. Again.

Ben sighed. He wasn't in the mood to move. He wasn't really in the mood to do anything, really. So, Ben just moved to the couch and sank into the seat. He reached for the remote, turning on the TV. The news was on. Joy. Anything he could look at to remind him about how the city was bitching about him.

"And the big question on everyone's mind is: where IS Ben Tennyson?" the news lady said, looking sternly into the camera, as if she was looking at Ben, telling him to get off his lazy ass and save the city from whatever was happening.

Ben quickly flipped off the TV. Suddenly, he wasn't in the mood to watch TV, either. Perhaps it was because it seemed as if everyone in Bellwood was out to get him.

Ben released a dramatic sigh, lying his head back on the couch. At some point, Ben had dozed off and fallen onto his side, sleeping on the couch. He had been sleeping a lot lately, too. However, only part of the time had his slumber been pleasant. Whenever his dreams weren't filled with Rook, they were just plain out uncomfortable.

* * *

Ben felt as if someone was breathing on his face. His eyes slowly opening, Ben felt as if his bones were stiff.

"The hell ... ?"

"Oh." Ben's mom said, pulling away. Her face had been right next to Ben's. "Sorry."

Ben carefully sat up on the couch, rubbing his sore forehead. "Mom ... ?"

"Sorry, honey." she said in a sweet voice. "Just go back to sleep."

Ben shot his mother a strange look, but she just stood up and walked off towards the stairs.

What the hell, indeed.

Ben knew that his mother was worried about him, but that day, she seemed to be taking things to the extreme. She would just about follow him everywhere. Sure, she was going upstairs, but she would be back as soon as Ben fell back asleep. She would keep her eyes glued on Ben. This seemed beyond strange to Ben.

Too tired to think straight, Ben just gave another small yawn before lying back down on the couch. It took him a while to get comfortable, but he was soon able to fall sleep.

* * *

Sandra hadn't told Ben that day. She didn't even know where to begin. She found it hard to even find the words to tell her husband that their son was pregnant. If she couldn't even tell him, how was she going to tell Ben?

Sandra had to sit down in her room to think about this. After some time, she got up and left the room, silently slipping back down stairs. She carefully checked on Ben, this time careful not to wake or disturb him. Sandra worried about him now more than ever.

Although Sandra knew that it was a horrible thing to think, she couldn't help thinking that Ben was in great danger just because of this pregnancy. Considering that this was Rook's child, and Rook was an alien, it made Sandra sick to the stomach knowing that her son had an alien parasite growing inside of him.

Even if Sandra did tell Ben, what would he do? How would he react? Perhaps Ben would know what to do. Sandra sure didn't know what to do. Would a doctor even know what to do? After all, Ben was pregnant with an alien baby. Sandra didn't know the first thing about helping her son through this.

Sandra fiddled with the hem of her shirt, something she did when she was nervous. She needed to tell SOMEONE. If it wasn't her husband or son, then it needed to be another woman, someone would could relate to what Sandra was feeling. So, Sandra decided to call the one person that came closest to her mind besides her own mother.

When she was sure that Ben was heavily sleeping, Sandra went back into the kitchen, grabbed the phone, headed back up to her room, and closed her door, making sure that no one could hear her. Dialing the number keys, Sandra waiting as the phone rang, crossing her fingers that the person on the other end would pick up.

To her relief, her niece answered.

"Hello?" Gwen answered.

"Hello, Gwen?" Sandra asked, sounding extremely nervous.

"Aunt Sandra? Is that you?" Gwen asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Well," Sandra said, starting to fiddle with the hem of her shirt, again. "Kind of. I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Shoot." Gwen said, sounding confident.

"It's about Ben." Sandra said.

Gwen sighed. "I figured. Do I need to come over?"

"No, no. That's fine." Sandra said quickly. "It's fine. I just wanted your advice on something."

"On what?" Gwen asked, confused.

"Ben ... has been sick lately." Sandra started. "And I wasn't sure what it was, so I took him in to the doctor. He got a blood test and everything. This morning, the doctor called and told me the news."

There was a long pause.

"And ...?" Gwen asked. "Is there something wrong?"

Sandra sighed. "Yes. Yes, there is. Something is VERY wrong. Ben ... Ben is pregnant."

There was such a long pause, Sandra thought that Gwen had hung up or had dropped the phone. Sandra swallowed, about to say something, but Gwen's voice stopped her.

"He's ... what?" Gwen asked.

"Pregnant." Sandra repeated, her voice cracking.

Gwen sighed. "Hang on. Let me think for a minute."

It didn't take long.

"Alright." Gwen started. "Don't panic. I think I know what happened."

"Honey," Sandra sighed, rolling her eyes. "Ben may be a boy, but I still know how babies are made. I'm a mother, after all."

Gwen chuckled nervously. "No, no. That isn't what I meant. I mean, a few years ago, Ben had a similar problem. One of his aliens, Bigchill, laid some eggs. His DNA make-up may have been mixed up after that happened, but we all thought that it was very unlikely that Ben would get pregnant, seeing that he was still human."

Sandra tried to process Gwen's words. "So ... Ben is going to be alright?"

Gwen sighed. "I'm not sure. He'd have to ask Azmyth. Have you told him yet?"

Sandra paused. "Well ... no. Not yet."

There was another pause.

"Do ... you want me to be with you when you tell him ...?" Gwen asked.

Sandra sighed. "No, thank you. But thank you for the information."

"Good luck, Aunt Sandra." Gwen said quietly, before hanging up.

* * *

Ben snored loudly, for once in forever being able to get some sleep. He didn't dream of anything. His mind was completely blank. He was sure that he was drooling, but if he was, then that just meant that he was having a good nap. Ben hadn't had one of those in FOREVER.

After a while, Ben had woken up, though. Once he woke up, he slowly sat up on the couch. He felt light headed, but didn't have a migraine or any kind of pains. He felt extremely thirsty, but other than that, he felt perfectly fine.

Taking a quick glance at the clock, Ben saw that he had slept for almost five whole hours. Whatever.

Getting off the couch, Ben made his way to the kitchen. He wasn't hungry, but he WAS thirsty. Getting a glass, Ben made his way to the sink, getting himself some water. Once Ben had had two or so glasses of water, he felt better.

Ben went back into the living room, but was surprised to see that his mother was sitting on the couch, looking at Ben with concern. Ben sighed, knowing that she wanted to say something. Moving slowly, Ben made his way to the couch and sat down beside her. His hair was ruffled and he was sure that he was wearing the same shirt that he wore yesterday, but Ben didn't care. He didn't care for much these days, anyway.

"Ben, how are you feeling?" his mother asked.

"Fine." Ben answered.

Sandra pulled a lock of hair behind her ear. "That's good."

Ben tilted his head. "Is something wrong?"

Sandra sighed. "Ben, when was the last time you heard from Rook?"

Ben flinched, as if he had been hit. "Um ... a week or two ago ... I guess."

Ben knew it was a week and a half ago, but he didn't want to sound so needy. He knew that Rook was off somewhere. And where ever he was, he was in danger. And every passing day was like a stab to the chest for Ben. However, as the days went by, and the stabbing continued, the pain seemed to slowly numb and turn into dull pain, but Ben knew that it was still there. He was still bleeding, even if he couldn't see the blood.

Once Sandra began to mess with the hem of her shirt, Ben knew something was wrong.

"Ben ... the doctor called." she said, looking away slightly.

Ben's heart pounded in his chest. "Y-yeah?"

"He ... um ... he told he something interesting. I wasn't sure what to think of it, so I called Gwen, and she told me a story."

"A ... story?" Ben mused. "What does that mean?"

"She told me about a few years ago." she began. "You ... err ... one of your aliens ... laid some eggs."

"Bigchill?" Ben asked, now remembering. "What about it?"

Sandra looked at her son for a few seconds that seemed to drag on, but she then sighed, looking at her son with remorse. "Ben, I'm sorry. You're pregnant."

Ben shuttered, feeling his lips form into a sick grin. He chuckled nervously. "This is a joke, right?"

Sandra looked down, shaking her head sadly. "No."

Ben began to shake. The world he knew seemed to be crashing down around him. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He felt like saying something, anything, but there was nothing. Ben felt hot tears rising. How could this happen? How could he be so careless?

Ben suddenly thought of Rook's warm, loving face. For some frightening reason, Ben felt as if his presence was near him. Ben shuttered. Was Rook ... dead? Ben shut his eyes. No. This couldn't be real. He wasn't pregnant and Rook was still alive. Rook was coming home.

For a moment, Ben seemed to have a flash back of not too long ago, where Rook had Ben wrapped in his long, strong arms. What Ben wouldn't give to be wrapped in those arms at that moment.

* * *

The room was brightly lit.

There was a moment of hesitation, but soon, the person lying in the bed lifted his hand, touching his fingers together. After deciding that his fingers and hands were fully functioning, he wiggled his toes.

After a few moments, he lifted one of his arms. It felt perfectly fine. Then, he tried lifting his other arm. Bad idea. Pain instantly shot through his arm and to his chest, making him groan loudly. He shut his eyes, trying to block out the light and pain.

Once his vision had adjusted back to the light of the room, he turned his head to the arm that hurt, seeing that it was wrapped tightly in soft wrapping and had small blood stains here and there.

There was a moment of confusion. Why was he here? What had happened?

Looking around the small room, the male saw that he was in a small, white cell and on a white bed. It was small and brightly lit, but it was cozy. Looking to the side, he saw that there was a sling bag with some kind of paper on the top.

After a few moments, he sat up. His head felt like someone had thrown a brick at it. When he raised his good arm and felt the back of his head, he felt a welt and a soft bandage around his head. After taking a quick glance around his body, he saw that there was nothing wrong with the rest of him.

Looking back over at the bag, he carefully reached over and picked up the paper. Once he did, he saw that there was actually two papers. The first one, the one of the top, was a sticky note.

"Rook Blonko.

Team 46.

Sector 9.

Destination: Planet Earth."

Rook slightly shuttered. Now he remembered. The last thing he had seen and remembered was his team being hit with a bombshell. Sadly, many had died. Rook hadn't had to been awake to know this. By the time the bombshell went off, he and many of his team were wiped out. Rook's heart pounded in his chest.

Where WAS he?

After a few moments of thinking, Rook thought of something. He looked back at the sticky note.

"Destination: Planet Earth."

Was he going back to his sector?

Rook leaned his back on the small cell's wall. He seemed to be in something like a pod. Now he knew. He was being transported. He had been beaten in combat. Now, he was being transported back to Earth.

Rook was suddenly swept over with emotions. Earth. His second home. He was FINALLY going back. However, what about his team? What had become of them? Was he the only survivor, or had others made it out, too? Rook didn't know.

He sighed, not sure what to think of the whole situation.

Suddenly, Rook remembered about the other paper. Lifting the sticky note paper up, Rook suddenly stopped breathing. He stared intently at the picture he had brought with him. The picture he held was none other then of Ben. HIS Ben.

Tears suddenly streamed down Rook's face. For once in forever, Rook had felt himself crying. It had felt good. It had felt good to let it all out.

Now, all Rook had wanted to do was get back to Earth. He wanted to get back and wrap his Ben in his love.

* * *

Ben lied face down in his bed, balling his eyes out.

'Why me? Why me?' was all that Ben kept thinking to himself.

Ben knew that his mother was outside his door. She had wanted to come inside and comfort her son, but she also wanted to give him some time. After all, didn't time heal all wounds? Well, that wasn't always true. In this case, time only seemed to be tearing Ben apart.

Ben's pillow was wet with his tears. After about two whole hours, Ben still felt as if he wanted to die, but he didn't have any more tears left to cry. Nothing was left for him to cry.

Why didn't Rook write Ben anymore?

Ben felt as if his Rook really was gone. Earlier that day, he had felt his lover's presence, but now, he felt nothing. He felt empty.

Ben rolled on his bed, facing his ceiling. He heard his mother leave over an hour ago, walking down stairs. Now, Ben was alone. Looking up at nothing, Ben shut his eyes tightly.

Ben placed a hand over his stomach, feeling the new bulge. Carrying this baby was like carrying the burden of loosing Rook. Ben didn't want that. And, suddenly, Ben realized that he didn't want this baby. He didn't want to have something that reminded him every day of his life of what he had lost.

It was much too late now, though. Ben wasn't sure how far along he was, but he did know that he was too far along to have an abortion.

Suddenly, Ben was hit with remorse. For as long as Ben could remember, he had always thought of abortion as wrong and cruel. He had learned this not just from his mother, but from society around him. Even if Ben had the opportunity, he knew he wouldn't abort his baby. Then again, he knew he didn't want it, either.

For a moment, Ben felt himself feel unsure of himself. He suddenly felt useless. All Ben wanted to do was be alone.

* * *

A whole week had gone by. Still, nothing.

Ben had stayed in his room and only came out when he needed to use the bathroom or when he needed to eat.

Gwen had come over a few times. When she did, she would go into Ben's room for hours at a time. When she was in his room, she would talk to him about normal stuff. About things that had happened to her before and about Ben's opinions on things. Ben often talked to Gwen, and Gwen only. Sometimes, he would talk to his mother, but that was about it.

Gwen was the only person that Ben talked to about his baby. She was the person who convinced him that the baby wasn't such a bad thing. Ben still thought that his baby was an awful reminder of Rook, but he no longer thought of it as a burden.

As time went by, Ben thought that perhaps having the baby would let Ben have something of Rook. Even if Rook didn't come back, then Ben would have something of his past love. Something to hold onto.

Gwen noticed something about this. She noticed that Ben often spoke of Rook as if he were dead. Then again, so did everyone else. This frightened Gwen, though. Ben had been the only person to keep an open mind and be so sure that Rook was going to return. Now, he seemed to be facing the facts that Rook hadn't written him in forever and was most likely lost at war.

Gwen couldn't help but sharing her cousin's pain. She would take all the pain away and keep it for herself if she could.

However, something happened that day. Something that no one would EVER forget.

Gwen was sitting on her cousin's bed. Both seemed to be staring off into space, not sure what to talk about. Ben had been extremely tired that morning, having horrible mood swings and throwing up a few times. This wasn't Ben's best day. It wasn't Gwen's, either. Her and Kevin had gotten into a fight, this one being bigger than normal ones.

So, Gwen had left Kevin alone and went to Ben's. Both had shared ice cream and cried together, even though Gwen really was over reacting.

Both could hear children playing out in the street. Gwen sighed, knowing how much Ben hated this. He hated knowing that kids would be outside, pointing and laughing at Ben. No one else knew he was pregnant, but many knew that he was being a bum and staying with his parents in his own room.

Gwen opened her mouth to say something, to drown out the sound of the children, but a new sound stopped her.

The children stopped laughing and playing as the sound of a bus pulled up the street. Out of curiosity, both Gwen and Ben got off the bed and made their way to the window. A short, white bus had pulled up to the side of the street. The children had come out to see what it was doing, being parked out front of Ben's house.

The bus's windows were tinted, but Ben and Gwen could see that a figure on the inside moved from the back of the bus slowly to the front. The bus's doors slid open, making a creaking sound. Kids tried to get closer, to sneak a peak.

That was when it happened. That was when they both thought they had seen an angel.

The figure stepped down the bus's steps, making it's way down to Ben's lawn. Ben had already flown out of his room and nearly pelted himself down the stairs. Tears streamed down his face.

Ben's mother was in the living room as Ben flew through the front door.

"Ben ... ?" she said, surprised.

Ben made his way through the lawn. He saw that one of his lover's arm's was wrapped in a sling, but Ben didn't care. Ben basically threw himself at Rook, wrapping his arms tightly around Rook, hugging him with all his might. Tears continued to stream down Ben's face.

With his good arm, Rook wrapped Ben tightly around himself and held him close. The two held tightly to each for for what seemed like forever. Ben sobbed in his lover's arms, holding on tightly, as if letting go would mean Rook would have to leave, again.

Rook seemed to purr softly, a sound that Ben thought he would never hear again.

Ben buried his face in Rook's chest. "I knew you'd come back ..."

* * *

_This is the second to last chapter. There will be one more after this one._

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS))_


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 - **END**

Months passed since then.

Rook taking the news of Ben's pregnancy was of mixed emotions. Well, he had been surprised. Who wouldn't be? Ben had then been afraid that Rook would be so overwhelmed by the news that he would leave Ben, but it was a selfish thought. Rook had loved Ben too much to throw everything away just because of a baby.

So, the two had packed everything they owned together and moved into Ben's apartment, seeing that it was bigger than Rook's. Now living together, Ben and Rook had faced new problems.

Ben was three months pregnant when he and Rook visited Azmyth. They had wanted to do it much sooner, but Azymth was always his stubborn self. He had only agreed to meeting up with the two when Rook had managed to contact Azmyth and explain their situation. It took some convincing, but Azmyth soon believed Rook and met up with the two the next day.

Rather than Rook and Ben traveling to Azmyth, Azmyth went to them, seeing that Azmyth thought that Ben shouldn't do anything else until he was checked out.

Indeed, that had been an emotional day.

Azmyth had done a full scanning of Ben, and had giving it to him and Rook straight.

"Never before has there been such a crossing of genetics. It is almost impossible. One in a million, I would say. Not only that, but there is little to no chance that YOU would get pregnant, making the odds all the more impossible. Getting pregnant with this half breed is one thing, but it having any chances of surviving is another." Azmyth had explained. "It'll simply die while in the womb."

When Azmyth had explained, Ben had been cradled in Rook's arms, tears streaming down his face. In all the time they had been waiting for the meeting with Azmyth, he and Rook had talked about nothing but the baby. That was when they had begun to warm up to the idea of having a child together.

"But there is a chance that the child will live?" Rook had asked.

Azmyth had sadly shaken his head. "I'm sorry. There is no chance of it living. It was by pure luck that Ben was able to get pregnant in the first place to begin with. My best guess is that you have a few weeks at most before it perishes."

* * *

After that, Rook had done nothing but worry and stress over Ben, more then he had had been already. Every weekend or whenever Ben was feeling 'out of the ordinary' he would take Ben into the doctor's office. This was all he could really do. There was no way to remove the child while it was still living. All they could do was wait. They had to wait until their child died and doctors either had to operate on Ben or Ben just natural birthed the dead child.

However, days turned to weeks. Depression slowly turned to hope.

So, when Ben became four months pregnant and Rook brought him in for another check up, they were both surprised by what the doctor told them.

"Well," he started. "I'm not an expert on these types of things, but I DO know when I see a healthy baby. And, you Sir, have a healthy baby."

"Are you sure?" Rook had asked, feeling a sudden rush of hope. "There is nothing wrong?"

The doctor shook his head. "Well, as far as I can tell. You'll need an Ultrasound for me to be completely sure."

"When can we do that?" Ben asked, eager.

"I'd say in about a few weeks." the doctor predicted.

* * *

So, a few weeks had passed. And, in that time, Ben and Rook had felt excitement all over again of being parents. They both knew that they shouldn't be pushing their luck, but they just couldn't help it. Perhaps Azmyth was wrong. Sure, Azmyth was smarter than an ordinary doctor, but as time seemed to go by, Ben seemed to only be more and more sure that their baby was going to live.

The day before Ben was due for his Ultrasound, he and Rook had visited Ben's parents. Ben felt as if his parents and Rook needed to spend more time together before Ben figured out what was happening inside him. It was his attempt at closure.

Things had gone better than Ben could ever hope for. Not only had his parents enjoyed Rook's company, but they had talked about his and Ben's relationship. Sandra had seemed to overjoyed at the thought of Ben's baby being healthy. Although Ben told them to not get too excited, Sandra couldn't help herself.

Where as Sandra seemed to have her motherly instincts around Ben, Ben's father seemed to be a little confused by the idea of his son having a baby. Sure, it was strange and violated the laws of nature, but this was his son, and he seemed happy just being with Rook. So, he had accepted his son's life decisions.

* * *

Ben sat lied back on the examination table. He was close to five months pregnant, and he and Rook had been fidgeting all that morning. Was the baby alright? Was it still healthy? Was Ben going to be alright?

The room was dark, but Ben knew that Rook was sitting right beside him. His boyfriend's hand was in Ben's, their fingers intertwining.

The doctor had told the two that it might have been too early to tell if the baby was a boy or a girl, but both Ben and Rook were mainly concerned if their baby was going to be healthy or not. Now, both had not only hoped for the baby's safety, but for the baby to be born healthy. Ben and Rook had both been fascinated by the idea of having a baby.

After about an hour of looking at the screens and looking through monitors, the doctor gave a slight smile. "It's a boy."

* * *

Not only had their baby been a boy, but it had been perfectly healthy.

The first people to know about it were Ben's parents, or Ben's mother.

Later, Rook had tried to contact Azmyth, to tell him the good news, and to tell him that the baby was growing in the womb perfectly fine. However, in the time that Rook had tried contacting Azmyth, there had been 'difficulties'.

Somehow, the public had found out about Ben's pregnancy. Well, both Ben and Rook deep down knew that they were bound to figure it out, but they had hoped that they wouldn't figure out until Ben had given birth.

Everyone's best guess was that a nurse at the hospital had snitched.

Ben's pregnancy was all over the news. It was the top story and what was talked about twenty-four-seven. Many people had called Ben a hermaphrodite. Others had called the whole story just a fluke. Ben had wanted to set them all straight, but didn't know where to even begin.

However, a new theory that popped up seemed to set Ben over the edge. The theory was that Ben's partner, Rook, had gotten Ben pregnant. It was true, but what WASN'T true was that people said that since Rook was an alien he had been able to get Ben pregnant. This made Ben's blood boil. How DARE they?

People seemed to lean towards this theory more, seeing that Ben openly dated Rook.

However, Ben decided on telling the public the truth at some point. Perhaps after he gave birth. That is, if he gave birth. No matter how much Ben hated admitted it, there always was the possibility that his son wouldn't be born.

* * *

Azmyth had came to Ben and Rook's apartment within a couple weeks. It had taken him longer to get to Ben, but he got there nevertheless.

He was quick to examine Ben, but once he was done, he seemed almost confused.

"This is indeed strange." he mumbled. "The child is growing properly, yet it shouldn't be."

Ben looked towards Rook, who put a protective hand over Ben's shoulder.

Rook shot Azmyth a skeptical look. "It SHOULDN'T be?"

"Well, yes." he answered. "The DNA is too crossed for the child to be able to live. And even if it DOES live, then it'll either be physically or mentally unstable. I advise you to take a look at this and decide what would be best for not only for your partner, but for your child. You need to decide if you would want them to live life with such disabilities. And even when it is born, the child might not live that long."

Rook tightened his grip on Ben's shoulder. "We will do whatever it takes for this child to live a long, happy life."

Azmyth snorted. "Such ignorance. I expected more from you, Rook. Very well. Do what you wish."

With that, Azmyth had left.

Yes, Rook's words had been full of ignorance, but they had been true. He would do everything for this child and his partner. He would give his heart's blood to keep them alive and happy.

* * *

Spring quickly turned to summer.

Ben and Rook would often leave their cramped apartment to get some fresh air or just to be together. Ben and Rook had gone everywhere together. Sometimes, they had gone to HQ just to see how things were moving along. Sure, others had been surprised to see how far along pregnant Ben was, but Ben didn't care. Neither did Rook.

As long as the two were together, neither cared.

Along the way, Ben had somehow explained to the media that he wasn't a hermaphrodite nor was he pregnant because of the fact that Rook was an alien. It was hard to explain that he had gotten pregnant because of recent Bigchill events, but the media had somehow formed the story and gotten it out to the rest of the public.

Now, Ben and Rook sat together in the grass at the top of the cliff that hung over the city. The summer air was extremely hot, but the two lied together in the shade of a tree, staying cool. Rook's back was pressed against the tree and Ben was between Rook's leg's, his back resting up against Rook. Rook's arms wrapped around under Ben's arms, his hands resting on top of Ben's bulge.

Every now and again Rook would feel the kicks of their son. Ben's head rested on Rook's shoulder as he breathed in the summer air and Rook's scent. Every so often, when a warm summer breeze blew in, Rook would give a warm purr, making Ben tingle with excitement.

Ben loved this place. Since Rook came back, they both came back here frequently. This place was special to Ben. This was where Ben not only came to think about things, but this was where he and Rook had had their first kiss. This place was beautiful, especially during the summer. He and Rook would sometimes stay here for hours.

Ben thought he had things already planned out. Or, at least, most things.

Ben's dreams of going to collage had been put on hold, but Rook had told Ben that as long as Ben had wanted to still go to collage, then Ben would go. Ben took Rook's words to heart, knowing that he would soon go to collage. Well, kind of soon. Ben might have had to wait until their son was around a year old, but once Ben thought he was ready, he would go back to school.

Ben's plans on going to collage were just one of his many plans for the future.

Ben and Rook had planned on moving out together, again. This time, they would leave the apartment that was constantly being crowded by press and leave for a place that they often visited: Undertown. Ben and Rook had both often toyed with the idea of moving into Undertown. It would be away from the distraction of the press and would be around the new environment.

Ben had been a little picky about this idea, though. He had been a little nervous moving into a place with all aliens, but now that he thought about it, perhaps Undertown would become a second home to him. And, considering he would have to come to the surface to get to HQ anyway, Ben wouldn't be completely cut off from the surface world.

This decision had been hard, but Ben and Rook had both decided on moving into Undertown.

Ben and Rook had also had plans on getting married. They didn't know where, or when, but they where going to get married at some point after Ben had given birth. Perhaps a few months after.

They were having a child together, and they had plans on being together for the rest of their lives. Ben and Rook soon were engaged, so all they had to do now was figure out when the wedding day was to be held.

There had also been the matter on naming their baby.

Rook and Ben had both been completely lost on what to name their son. Ben had even asked him mother, and she had literally bombed Ben with a million details on names. She had listed several names off to Ben, telling him many that she liked and some that she thought were cute or thought had some meaning to.

However, Sandra had told Ben about one name she liked in particular. She had seemed to like the name Andrew. She had seen many boys with the name over the years and she had seemed to like the name. She had liked the name to the point where if she had had another son, she would've named him Andrew.

Ben had thought about this. He wasn't so much a fan of the name Andrew, but when he ran the name by Rook, his partner had brought up a shorter version, which had been Drew. Ben had liked this name. After both had thought about the name for a while, they had both agreed to the name. Once Ben had told his mother that he was going to name his son Drew, then she had just about screamed with delight. It wasn't exactly Andrew, but it was close enough.

Ben sighed. He knew that he was thinking things through too much. There was still the slightest chance that their son wouldn't make it, or that he would be born with disabilities, but being wrapped in Rook's strong arms made Ben think that things were going to be alright. He thought that things were going to play out just fine.

Staring off into the sunset, Ben blinked, then closed his eyes.

'This is it.' he thought to himself. 'This is my happy ending.'

Sure, there had been bumps along the road and moments where Ben thought that things were anything but happy, but Ben wouldn't have things any other way. As long as he was with Rook, Ben didn't care.

"I love you." Ben whispered, feeling tired.

Rook purred affectionately, resting his head next to Ben's. "I love you, too."

* * *

_Well guys, this is the LAST chapter. I'm sorry to say so, but I'm also happy that this is over. It has been so much fun writing this story and seeing all the reactions from all of you who read this. Thank you to everyone who has given feedback._

_Don't be completely sad, though. Why? Cause this isn't really the end. There is going to be a sequel. The sequel is going to be called 'Hybrid'. The first chapter will come out this April on the 6th._

_Then you'll all be able to see Rook and Ben's son. :3_

_Oh, about that. I might as well say that now. I named him Drew not just because I love the name, but also because I get annoyed by the fact that in EVERY SINGLE fan fiction Ben's son is named Ken or Kenny. I wanted this fan fiction to be a little different. Something fresh. I kept it a little original by making Ben be the one being pregnant, but I couldn't handle naming their son Kenny. Nope. Not going to happen. Sorry if you were expecting that. _

_Like. Every. Other. Fan. Fiction._

_Well, I guess I'll see you guys on the flip side. :3_

_((I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OMNIVERSE OR ANY OTHER BEN 10 SERIES. BEN 10 BELONGS TO CARTOON NETWORK. HOWEVER, I DO OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND THE IDEAS I PUT INTO IT SO THIS IS COPYRIGHT REDWOLFPRODUCTIONS))_


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